NEWINGTON — The treasurer of the Newington Volunteer Ambulance Corps was arrested on larceny and forgery charges Tuesday after an audit uncovered an embezzlement scheme where he allegedly siphoned off more than $100,000 from the organization over at least three years, officials said.
Fredrick Seremet, 59, of Newington, a longtime volunteer who served as treasurer on the ambulance corps board of directors, was released on $25,000 bond after being charged by warrant with first-degree larceny and 40 counts of forgery.
Ambulance Corps officials requested an audit in August after noticing some irregularities, said Mayor Jeffrey Wright Tuesday. What the professional auditing company and police have discovered has "shocked" town officials, he said.
"We have two concerns, number one to punish this individual to make sure it doesn’t happen again and provide people with confidence in this great organization," Wright said. "We are appalled and shocked that this happened. He had previously been a respected member for quite some time."
The ambulance corps includes roughly 40 certified EMTs and command staff that responds to medical calls 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday through Friday and throughout the entire weekend.
The organization is contracted through the town but is funded by billing insurers and is considered a non-profit entity, not a town department. A 15-member board of directors oversees the operation and funding.
The board hired an accounting firm in August to look at the previous year’s fiscal records and uncovered that substantial amounts of money had been misdirected, said board president Donald Brown in a press release issued Tuesday.
"An internal investigation conducted by board president Donald Brown, with the assistance of the accountants, concluded that from early 2005 through late 2008 a significant amount of money was misdirected. Upon conclusion of the internal investigation a complaint was filed with the Newington Police Department on Feb. 3 for the theft of these funds," according to the press release.
Seremet declined to comment on the charges Tuesday and referred all questions to his attorney. He is scheduled to be arraigned on the charge May 11 in New Britain Superior Court.
Wright said he hopes residents will continue to support the organization and steps have already been taken to prevent any future problems. "This is a very good group," he said. "It’s shocking, but as soon as it was brought to our attention, it was acted on. We’re hoping that because of one individual people won’t lose confidence in this wonderful organization."
http://www.newbritainherald.com/articles/2010/04/28/news/doc4bd8404f9c990912483465.txt
Fredrick Seremet, 59, of Newington, a longtime volunteer who served as treasurer on the ambulance corps board of directors, was released on $25,000 bond after being charged by warrant with first-degree larceny and 40 counts of forgery.
Ambulance Corps officials requested an audit in August after noticing some irregularities, said Mayor Jeffrey Wright Tuesday. What the professional auditing company and police have discovered has "shocked" town officials, he said.
"We have two concerns, number one to punish this individual to make sure it doesn’t happen again and provide people with confidence in this great organization," Wright said. "We are appalled and shocked that this happened. He had previously been a respected member for quite some time."
The ambulance corps includes roughly 40 certified EMTs and command staff that responds to medical calls 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday through Friday and throughout the entire weekend.
The organization is contracted through the town but is funded by billing insurers and is considered a non-profit entity, not a town department. A 15-member board of directors oversees the operation and funding.
The board hired an accounting firm in August to look at the previous year’s fiscal records and uncovered that substantial amounts of money had been misdirected, said board president Donald Brown in a press release issued Tuesday.
"An internal investigation conducted by board president Donald Brown, with the assistance of the accountants, concluded that from early 2005 through late 2008 a significant amount of money was misdirected. Upon conclusion of the internal investigation a complaint was filed with the Newington Police Department on Feb. 3 for the theft of these funds," according to the press release.
Seremet declined to comment on the charges Tuesday and referred all questions to his attorney. He is scheduled to be arraigned on the charge May 11 in New Britain Superior Court.
Wright said he hopes residents will continue to support the organization and steps have already been taken to prevent any future problems. "This is a very good group," he said. "It’s shocking, but as soon as it was brought to our attention, it was acted on. We’re hoping that because of one individual people won’t lose confidence in this wonderful organization."
http://www.newbritainherald.com/articles/2010/04/28/news/doc4bd8404f9c990912483465.txt