Former N.C. Chief, Assistant Face Fraud, Embezzlement Charges

Aug. 08--The former chief and assistant chief of the Clarkton Fire Department are accused of falsely reporting the theft of department equipment, the Bladen County Sheriff's Office said.

Allen Robinson, the former chief, and Joshua Simmons, the former assistant, are accused of cutting a water pump off a firetruck last year and reporting it stolen for insurance money, sheriff's Capt. Rodney Hester said Wednesday. The pump was valued at close to $13,000, lawmen said.

Robinson, 35, of U.S. 701 South in Clarkton, was charged with five counts of embezzlement and two counts each of insurance fraud and corporate malfeasance. His bail was set at $175,000. He has worked with the Fire Department since 2000, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Simmons, 25, of N.C. 242 South in Bladenboro, was charged with conspiracy. His bail was set at $5,000, Hester said.

Hester said Robinson also reported several air tanks were stolen in 2010 when they were still being used by firefighters in Clarkton. He also is accused of misappropriating money when he was chief.

The case was presented Monday to the Bladen County grand jury, Hester said.

The accusations were investigated last month by the Sheriff's Office, the State Bureau of Investigation and the state Department of Insurance, Hester said. The search warrant for the investigation was executed July 9.

Staff writer Caitlin Dineen can be reached at [email protected] or 486-3509.

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