FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Ohio — The Fairfield County Sheriff's Office is investigating an alleged theft after a member of a firefighters’ union took at least $100,000 for four years.
On March 27, a deputy was called to the Violet Township Fire Department at 8700 Refugee Rd. to speak with several firefighters who were a part of the union.
Representatives told the deputy that they elected new leadership who called for an audit. The union president reached out to a member several times to conduct the audit, but representatives said the member made several excuses as to why he couldn’t do it.
Later that day, representatives assembled an executive board to meet with the member to conduct the audit. The member then admitted to taking an estimated $100,000 from the union’s account for the last four years.
The representatives were told by the member that he was going to pay it back.
Detectives received statements from the representatives the next day, including one from the union’s vice president. He wrote in his statement that he was compiling a spreadsheet of fraudulent transactions.
The vice president added that it appeared the member in question used a PayPal account to conduct business, but specific details were not provided.
Union members said in a statement that taxpayer money is not believed to be involved.
You can read their full statement below.
“As part of a review of operations after my election as union president we noticed some inconsistencies that raised questions about our finances. We believe now that our local union – NOT the Fire Department - has been the victim of significant theft. We do not believe that any taxpayer money is involved, but because our members’ dues are deducted from their paychecks, we are being extraordinarily cautious. We have taken immediate steps to report what we know to the Ohio Attorney General who has jurisdiction over charitable fraud – because one of the accounts involved is a charity, the Ohio Auditor, and the Fairfield County Sheriff for further investigation. Our goal is to be transparent and accountable. We are working with our Fire Department’s leaders and we are committed to fully cooperating to discover the depth of this theft. While the investigation has just begun, we will share as much accurate information as we can as soon as we can. Our union leadership will also be continuing its own review of operations and will work to institute whatever safeguards are necessary to help ensure this can’t happen again. We are creating a page on our website where we will share trusted information moving forward at IAFFLocal3558.com/facts.”