Theft in the Volunteer Fire Service

The treasurer for a volunteer fire department in Mississippi has been indicted on embezzlement charges. Sandra “Carlene” Statham was the treasurer for Friendship Volunteer Fire Department. She is accused of writing checks to herself totaling $35,772.23.

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A former Pennsylvania fire chief has been given 12 months of probation and must make full restitution for stealing $4,359 from his fire department. William “Bubba” Benecke, who served as fire chief for the Sharon Hill Fire Company, has reportedly already made restitution.

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The attorney general for Indiana has filed suit against the former treasurer of a volunteer fire department to recover not only the $185k in department funds he is accused of misappropriating plus $50k in additional costs the department incurred, but a statutory damage award of three times the fire department’s actual damages for a total of $575k.

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The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has filed charges against a fire chief and his wife who are accused of embezzling thousands from the volunteer fire company they oversaw. Joseph Kirk Reynolds, the former fire chief of the Asbury-Rehoboth VFD, and his wife, treasurer Gina Reynolds, were charged with embezzlement of public funds and breach of trust.

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A Pennsylvania firefighter has been charged with stealing $140,000 from his fire department. John Montgomery was arraigned today on two felony counts of theft and two misdemeanor counts of misappropriation of funds from the Castle Shannon Volunteer Fire Department.

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A North Carolina fire chief who was suspended last fall after being charged with submitting fraudulent invoices, is now facing new charges of insurance fraud. Kenan Wayne Kearney was suspended as Fire Chief of the Blackmon's Crossroads Fire Department last November.

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The treasurer of a volunteer fire department in North Carolina has been charged with three counts on embezzlement. Linda Gibson, 72, stands accused to stealing $12,000 from the Stella Volunteer Fire Department.

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In this episode, Curt discusses a little known problem, Pink Collar Theft, with Kelly Paxton. Kelly runs the web site pinkcollarfraud.com and is helping to debunk the myths that many of us have about fire service embezzlement.

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The two most common criminal offenses in the volunteer fire service involve embezzlement and arson. A volunteer from Pennsylvania is heading to prison for setting his own vehicle on fire to cover up his theft of fire company raffle proceeds.

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The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office has charged three former fire chiefs from the Hernando Beach Volunteer Fire Department with fraud. The arrests follow a seven-month investigation into allegations of misappropriation of funds from the now defunct fire company

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A part-time administrative assistant for the Falls Township Fire Department pled guilty yesterday to stealing for than half-a-million dollars from the fire department. Kristie L. Howard pled guilty in Muskingum County Common Pleas Court to felony counts of theft, telecommunication fraud, and eight counts of forgery

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A secretary for the Holley Navarre Fire District has been charged with stealing nearly $56,000 from the firefighters' pension fund. Melissa Ann Severt, 44, stole the money over a four-year span by making cash withdrawals using a debit card

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In the aftermath of 140 arrests for insider theft from volunteer fire departments in New York state in the past six years, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli wants fire departments to tighten their financial controls.

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In one of the largest cases of theft in the history of the volunteer fire service, the treasurer of the Mahopac Volunteer Fire Department pled guilty today to numerous charges. Michael Klein was accused of embezzling over $5.6 million from the fire company over a thirteen-year period, starting in January 2002 until September 2015.

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