In July 2016, an audit of financial accounts was conducted at Wayne Township Volunteer Fire Department by administration, including the Fire Chief, Assistant Chief and EMS Captain. Audits of all accounts were conducted due to inconsistencies noted by the members of administration.
At the time of the audit, Norman Burgess was the treasurer for the fire department and controlled all financial accounts. The audits revealed discrepancies in multiple accounts. Burgess was asked for all financial records, and he failed to comply after being given two deadlines. The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department was immediately notified and at that time, the case was referred to the Indiana State Police and the Indiana State Board of Accounts.
Burgess had been with the Wayne Township Volunteer Fire Department since August 2008 and had been clerk treasurer since 2011 and was responsible for all accounts payable systems, including payroll. He resigned in October 2016.
Since this discovery, financial accountability systems have been reviewed and new measures put into place to ensure that no single member of the Department has complete control over payroll and accounts payable systems.
As a result of the investigation, Burgess was indicted on six counts of wire fraud in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.