BERRIEN COUNTY, Mich. — Officials discovered fraud and embezzlement may have occurred within a fire department after an unrelated charge against a former fire board treasurer.
ABC57 reported that the North Berrien Fire Board took a look at its funds when fire board Treasurer Robert Wooley was charged with embezzlement from a senior center.
The board found out that tens of thousands of dollars could have been stolen from its departments, according to the report.
“Betrayed, hurt, saddened, not only as a board and a department, but to all the taxpayers in northern Berrien County,” said fire board Chairman Robert Harper.
After seeing checks made to cash, signatures that didn’t match and strange transactions, attorneys determined that cause does exist to believe fraud has occurred.
The board voted Monday night to move forward with a formal forensic investigation, according to the report.
Wooley is due in court Tuesday for previous charges and could face up to 20 years in prison.
The board does not yet have an exact figure of how much was stolen.