GOSHEN – The former financial secretary of the Washington Heights Fire Company in the Town of Wallkill Friday pled guilty in Orange County Court to grand larceny in connection with the theft of $17,947 from the department’s parade fund.
The fire company had planned on holding a parade on September 23, 2023, that was to include 35 other departments. As a result of Simpson’s embezzlement, the parade had to be cancelled 11 days before the event.
An investigation by the State Police revealed that between August 29, 2022 and September 8, 2023, Simpson stole the funds from the fire company’s parade bank account by using a debit card to make 83 unauthorized ATM cash withdrawals.
As part of her plea agreement, she must repay the full amount of money that she stole.
District Attorney David Hoovler called the embezzlement “reprehensible and unfair not only to the brave men and women who unselfishly serve as firefighters, but also to the community who were robbed of an opportunity to show their appreciation.”
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