Angora Fire: Red Cross employee arrested for embezzlement

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Angora Fire: Red Cross employee arrested for embezzlement

Ex-Red Cross worker suspected of embezzling Angora wildfire money

A former American Red Cross employee awaited extradition in a Texas jail Friday after being arrested this week on suspicion of embezzling more than $16,000 meant for victims of the 2007 Angora wildfire at Lake Tahoe.

The Texas State Department of Public Safety on Thursday arrested John Stephen Hellman, 48, near Austin, Texas, where he had been working for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, officials said.

He is charged with embezzling $16,574 between September and December 2008, according to a criminal complaint filed with the Superior Court in El Dorado County, Calif.

Ten of the charges allege grand theft and the final one alleges embezzlement. They are all felonies and each carries a possible sentence of one to three years in prison, lead investigator Robert Cosley said.

During that time he served as Red Cross Tahoe Area Preparedness and Response Manager, said Carole Evans, interim CEO of the Sacramento Sierra Chapter of the American Red Cross.

“The Red Cross is disheartened, saddened and angry,” Evans said. “I’m angry.”

The Red Cross received about $850,000 total for the relief effort after the fire, which destroyed 254 homes and burned 3,100 acres near South Lake Tahoe in late June and early July 2007.

Red Cross officials noticed discrepancies during a routine internal audit in January 2009. After conducting a more thorough investigation, they forwarded information on to the El Dorado County district attorney’s office in March.

Evans emphasized that all victims received proper assistance.

“We really want our donors to know that we take the stewardship of donated dollars very seriously,” Evans said. “That’s why we ourselves always do an internal audit and that’s why we were able to find this.”

The Red Cross conducted a background check before hiring Hellman in September 2007, Evans said. The check revealed no criminal history, she said.

These types of incidents are not common with the Red Cross, Cosley said.

Officials expect Hellman to be transported to California next week.

Source: http://www.rgj.com/article/20090807/NEWS/90807050/1321/news

1 comment:

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Sunday, August 9, 2009