Criminal LawTheft in the Volunteer Fire ServiceVolunteers
Insider Theft in PA Volunteer Fire Department
Another volunteer fire department has been victimized by insider theft, this time to the tune of over $50,000. Ankur Patel, age 24, of the Rohrerstown Fire Company in Lancaster County, used a fire company credit card between July and December 2010 for personal expenses.
Patel was a live-in firefighter and had been with the company for approximately four years. It is the 54th case I have tracked since 2008 where a volunteer firefighter has stolen large sums of money from his/her organization. Most of the thefts were committed by a fire company treasurer, president, or chief. In this case, Patel was the Vice-President.
I do not think there ever will be a way to have a check and balance system that will have the ability to acknowledge charges on an account that is not being utilized for its intended purposes. Sad state of affairs when someone posing as a firefighter steals from firefighter.
Chief – Good to hear from you!!!
I know there are no easy fixes – but the more checks we put in place, the harder we make it for those who might be prone to steal. We are our own worst enemy. We are trusting by nature – particularly of our own. What was it that Ronald Regan said – “trust… but verify”.
Prosecution of those that steal in this fashion may be the only way to deter it. This person’s life is damaged greatly, but I imagine that prosecution is necessary, especially when public funds are involved.
George
It is an enormous problem – and many (some believe most) cases are not even reported because the FD does not want the bad publicity. We need to make our organizations more “theft-resistant” and less trusting.