Investigation Reveals Missing Cash at Blount County Fire Protection District
An investigation by the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office has found that employees of the Blount County Fire Protection District failed to deposit or record at least $5,785 in customer cash collections between January and November 2023.
The Blount County Fire Protection District is the only fire department public utility district in the state and operates with financial support from annual subscription charges paid by county residents.
Investigators determined that employees collected cash payments from customers and issued prenumbered receipts; however, these transactions were not recorded in the district’s accounting system or deposited. In some cases, annual charges for customers were deleted from the accounting system, meaning those customers may not have received notices of delinquent payments and were potentially left without fire coverage.
The district used one shared cash drawer, and employees also shared usernames and passwords to the district’s accounting system. These conditions made it impossible to determine which employee or employees were responsible for the missing money.
“It’s essential that government offices handling cash collections implement strong safeguards and oversight,” said Comptroller Mumpower. “When multiple employees share login credentials and a single cash drawer, it becomes much harder to identify who is responsible when money goes missing.”
The results of this investigation have been communicated to the Office of the District Attorney General of the 5th Judicial District.
To view the investigative report, go to tncot.cc/doireports. To view a map depicting Comptroller investigations, go to tncot.cc/mappinginvestigations
If you suspect fraud, waste, or abuse of public money in Tennessee, call the Comptroller’s toll-free hotline at 800.232.5454, or file a report online at: tncot.cc/fraud. Follow us on X/Twitter @TNCOT and Instagram @tncot
Media contact: John Dunn, Director of Communications, 615.401.7755 or john.dunn@cot.tn.gov
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