Former Blackberry Volunteer Fire Chief Sentenced for COVID-19 Fraud

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The former Fire Chief of the Blackberry Volunteer Fire Department (BVFD) in Pike County, Christopher Chapman, 36, was sentenced on Monday by U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell to 12 months in prison, for theft of public funds.

In 2021, as part of the American Rescue Plan Act, to support communities and local governments that were struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government distributed emergency funding to local governments to maintain vital local services. In Spring 2022, Pike County local government authorized the distribution of $50,000 of these funds through grants that were allocated for the purchase of turnout gear for fire and rescue, along with equipment and building maintenance. Chapman applied for these grants on behalf of BVFD, and the local government awarded the full amount of the grants.

According to his plea agreement, on April 11, 2022, Chapman created a company named Rural Public Safety Equipment, LLC. (RPSE), as the sole organizer and member, and registered it with the West Virginia Secretary of State. Chapman then informed members of the BVFD that he could obtain fire safety equipment at cost from a safety equipment company, and he failed to disclose that he was the owner of the company. The fire department pre-paid and ordered $76,854.50 worth of fire and safety equipment from RPSE. Instead of using the prepayments from BVFD to fulfill the orders, Chapman never fulfilled any fire and safety equipment orders, spent all the money on his own personal use, and withdrew $61,500 in cash from the RPSE bank account.

Under federal law, Chapman must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence. Upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for three years. Chapman was also ordered to pay $76,854.50 in restitution.

Paul McCaffrey, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Michael E. Stansbury, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville Field Office; and Bruce Roberts, Interim Executive Director, Kentucky Fire Commission, jointly announced the sentencing.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Kentucky Fire Commission. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittany Dunn-Pirio is prosecuting the matter on behalf of the United States.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice's National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form. For more information on the Department's response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

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