Former Town of Sophia Volunteer Fire Chief ordered to pay more than $200K in restitution
Editor’s Note: This article has been corrected to reflect that Kenneth Churning was the former chief of the Town of Sophia Volunteer Fire Department. We regret the error.
RALEIGH COUNTY, WV (WVNS) — A former Town of Sophia Fire Chief was ordered to pay more than $200,000 in restitution after he pleaded guilty to 61 felony charges of theft from his own department.
According to a release from the WV State Auditor’s Office, former Town of Sophia Volunteer Fire Chief Kenneth Richard Churning appeared in a Raleigh County courtroom where he was ordered by Raleigh County Circuit Court Judge Robert Burnside to pay a total of $204,043.92 in restitution.
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From July 2017 through December 2019 investigators found 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. The amount stolen was more than 65% of all funding received by the Sophia Area VFD.
In July 2023, Churning pleaded guilty to two counts of embezzlement, six counts of fraudulent schemes, 45 counts of falsifying accounts and eight counts of conspiracy. Circuit Judge Robert Burnside, Jr sentenced Churning to 4 to 35 years in prison, which was suspended for a 4 year supervised probation.
Churning must pay $147,155.82 to the Town of Sophia Volunteer Fire Department and $56,888.10 to the WV State Auditor’s Office.
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