RALEIGH COUNTY, W.Va. — A Raleigh County Circuit Court Judge has ordered a former volunteer firefighter to pay more than $200,000 in restitution for stealing from the department he worked at.
Last June, former Sophia Volunteer Fire Chief Kenneth Richard Churning plead guilty, by way of Kennedy Plea, to 61 felony charges, including conspiracy, embezzlement, fraudulent schemes and falsifying accounts.
Churning stole money through ATM and cash withdrawals, cash back transactions and personal expense reimbursement. The money stolen made up more than 65% of all funding received by the Sophia Volunteer Fire Department from 2017-19.
Churning was sentenced to 4 to 35 years in prison, which was suspended for four years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution. He must pay $147,155.82 to the Town of Sophia Volunteer Fire Department. Churning must also pay $56,888.10 to the West Virginia State Auditor’s Office for the costs associated with investigating the fraud.
Robert Burnside filed the order of restitution Tuesday.