State Auditor Tom Wagner said the former treasurer of a Sussex County ambulance nonprofit misappropriated funds.
Wagner’s office says it found unauthorized withdrawals of more than 100,000 dollars were made from Mid Sussex Rescue Squad’s accounts between 2011 and 2016.
The Squad, headed by three brothers, gets taxpayer money to provide ambulance services in Eastern Sussex County. Tax filings list Heather McCabe - the former wife of Mid Sussex President Raymond Johnson - as the group’s former treasurer.
House Minority Leader Danny Short said lawmakers are increasing oversight of volunteer fire and ambulance companies. His bill giving the State Fire Prevention Commission more power to demand additional financial checks is currently waiting for the governor’s signature.
“We think we’re doing a lot more than we were and now this evolution through the fire commission might determine whether we need to do more. So, we’ll ask their input, we’ll see how this bill once it’s passed, the best practices, those need to survey. Maybe there might need to be something else. I don’t know,” he said.
Mid Sussex disputes the amount of misappropriated funds cited by Wagner. It also says McCabe repaid the money.
Wagner said he turned over his findings to the Attorney General’s office for possible prosecution. Other volunteer fire companies have seen money vanish in recent years, including ones in Gumboro, Millville and Marydel.
