Former Sophia fire chief sentenced for embezzlement, fraud and other felonies
Jul. 18—A former volunteer fire chief in Raleigh County pleaded guilty Monday to 61 felony charges for stealing more than $133,000 from the Sophia Volunteer Fire Department.
By way of Kennedy plea, Kenneth Richard Churning, the former chief of the Sophia Volunteer Fire Department, pleaded guilty in Raleigh County Circuit Court on Monday to two counts of embezzlement, six counts of fraudulent schemes, 45 counts of falsifying accounts and eight counts of conspiracy.
From July 2017 through December 2019, investigators found that Churning stole $118,509.47 from the fire department through ATM and cash withdrawals, $13,740 in cash back transactions and $1,205.11 through personal expense reimbursement, according to a release from the West Virginia State Auditor's Office.
The theft represented more than 65 percent of all funding received by the Sophia Volunteer Fire Department during that two-year period.
The taxpayer money was intended to be used by the Sophia Volunteer Fire Department to help protect the community, to outfit volunteer firefighters and to ensure they had the equipment they needed in cases of emergency.
Raleigh County Circuit Judge Robert Burnside Jr. sentenced Churning to a sentence of four to 35 years, which was suspended for four years of supervised probation. Churning will also be required to pay restitution for what he stole and for costs associated with the investigation of this theft; the specific amount will be determined at a later date.
If at any point during his probation Churning fails to comply with the terms and conditions of his probation or fails to pay restitution, he could be sent to prison to serve the four- to 35-year sentence.
The West Virginia State Auditor's Public Integrity and Fraud Unit worked in conjunction with the Raleigh County prosecutor, Raleigh County Sheriff's Office, Fayette County Sheriff's Office and Sophia Police Department on this investigation.
