Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
Another volunteer fire company has found itself to be the victim of insider theft, this time by the fire company’s treasurer.
Andrew Cushman, treasurer for the Plymouth Volunteer Fire Department in Chenango County, New York is facing felony charges of grand larceny on allegations he stole more that $10,000 from the fire department’s accounts.
The charges were brought by state police following an investigation requested by the fire company. Cushman is reported to be 25 years old.
According to my database, there have been at least 134 cases of insider theft in the volunteer fire service since 2008. Of them 95 were for amounts in excess of $10,000 and at least 27 involved amounts in excess of $100,000. The number of thefts and the amounts stolen are likely to be greatly under-estimated because many thefts go unreported.
Of the 134 cases of stealing, 61 involve thefts by treasurers, 47 by fire chiefs and 15 by presidents.
