RANSOM, Ky. (WYMT) -A former volunteer fire chief has accepted a plea agreement in connection to an April indictment for federal program theft.
An agreement was reached this week, charging Christopher Chapman, the former fire chief or Blackberry Volunteer Fire Department, with one count of theft of public funds.
In April, Chapman was indicted by a grand jury for applying for $50,000 in recovery grant applications and later withdrawing “cash on numerous occasions” from the awarded money for his personal use.
According to court documents, Chapman was operating a business called Rural Public Safety Equipment, LLC, which he registered in West Virginia. In April 2022, the indictment claims Chapman told the fire department board that he could acquire fire safety equipment, at cost, from that company.
The next month, Chapman applied for the first $25,000 Pike County Fire-Rescue Recovery Grant (funded through the American Rescue Plan Act meant to assist struggling local governments during the COVID-19 pandemic), claiming the money would be used for turnout gear.
In July 2022, Chapman applied for a second portion of that same funding, citing a need for equipment and building maintenance.
Following Chapman’s recommendation, using the granted funding, BVFD ordered $76,854.40 worth of fire safety equipment from Rural Public Safety Equipment.
However, instead of ordering the equipment through his business, Chapman withdrew $61,500 from the business account for his personal use and used the remaining money through direct purchases from the bank account.
The original indictment- to which he pled not guilty- said he “knowingly embezzled, stole, obtained by fraud” funding from a federal program, a charge that would come with a less than 10-year prison sentence, a fine of less than $250,000, and three year probation upon release.
Though the case was originally set for a jury trial in June, his legal team asked for a continuance.
Monday, Chapman entered a guilty plea, charged with theft of public funds.
That comes with a sentence of no more than 10 years in prison, a fine of no more than $250,000, and supervised release of no more than three years upon release. A $100 mandatory special assessment also applies.
Chapman was not imprisoned, but ordered to return all equipment to the fire department. He is also ordered to pay restitution of $11,000 to the Kentucky Fire Commission and the rest of the $76,854.50 to the Pike County Fiscal Court.
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