Lawsuit: Ex-Speedway fire chief embezzled taxpayer funds for personal use
The Indiana attorney general’s office Thursday filed a lawsuit against a former Speedway fire chief accused of using public funds to make personal purchases.
A State Board of Accounts special investigation revealed that Mark Watson, Plainfield, used his position as fire chief to embezzle $58,093.89 in taxpayer money from the town of Speedway. He led the department from January 2011 until his resignation in October.
The stolen money was used by Watson to buy a Toyota pickup truck, a snowblower, a gun and other items, according to a news release. The lawsuit seeks repayment of the embezzled money, three times the amount of actual financial losses suffered and more than $21,000 in state investigative costs.
“Taxpayers want their local fire department to be properly equipped and trained so that firefighters can save lives and property; but the brazen actions of this individual in embezzling taxpayers’ funds for his own personal use is a cynical violation of public trust and an insult to other firefighters and public servants who devote themselves to serving citizens,” Attorney General Zoeller said in a statement.
Officials said Watson had access to town funds as fire chief with little oversight. The town had theft insurance policy of $50,000 coverage per loss on its employees for each of the four years that Watson was chief through U.S. Specialty Insurance Co.
The audit lists a number of instances in which it alleges Watson misused money:
• Watson created a personal bank account named “DBA Speedway F.D.” without town authorization and transferred $42,992.53 in town funds into the account over four years.
• Watson invented a company called “Fireprof” and presented a purchase order to the town to pay the company almost $4,500 for a repair.
• More than 150 prospective firefighters took an entry-level exam and paid $20 each. The audit says the town never received the fees, which were in the care of Watson.
• Watson created a personal checking account into which he deposited funds meant for the department.
• After leaving employment with the town, Watson failed to return a town-owned computer costing $1,129.98, the audit said.
If the court enters a civil judgment in the lawsuit, then the attorney general’s office can use the same collection methods any creditor can use against a debtor to collect on a debt, officials said.
Options include placing liens on real estate and personal property, and garnishing wages and bank accounts.
Watson began as a firefighter with the Speedway Fire Department in 1991, rising up to division chief before he was named chief of the department in 2010.
Call Star reporter Justin L. Mack at (317) 444-6138. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack.