Chief and Wife Arrested for Volunteer Theft in South Carolina

Posted by: Curt Varone July 19, 2018 0

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 Volunteer Fire Department, and his wife, Gina Reynolds, were charged with embezzlement of public funds and breach of trust. Gina Reynolds served as the fire company’s treasurer.

The SLED investigation into the missing fire company funds was requested by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office. According to WMBF the couple is being held at Cherokee County Detention Center.

Incidentally, theft by husband and wife teams is not unheard of in the fire service. Out of 216 criminal cases of theft in the volunteer fire service in my database, 14 involve husband and wife teams. The 14 cases are included in the 65 the cases involving female thieves, or what we call Pink Collar Crime.

More on the story.

About Curt Varone

Curt Varone has over 45 years of fire service experience and 35 as a practicing attorney licensed in both Rhode Island and Maine. His background includes 29 years as a career firefighter in Providence (retiring as a Deputy Assistant Chief), as well as volunteer and paid on call experience. He is the author of two books: Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services, (2006, 2nd ed. 2011, 3rd ed. 2014, 4th ed. 2022) and Fire Officer's Legal Handbook (2007), and is a contributing editor for Firehouse Magazine writing the Fire Law column.
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