CLEARFIELD – A Grampian couple accused of stealing from a local fire department pleaded guilty Tuesday during plea and sentencing court in Clearfield County.
Scott Norman McCracken, 41 and Jennifer Irene McCracken, 38, pleaded guilty to 10 misdemeanor counts of theft by unlawful taking.
Judge Fredric J. Ammerman sentenced them to 10 years of probation and ordered each of them to pay $3,361 in restitution. They were fined $600 plus costs.
They are not permitted to hold any position with any fire company or non-profit organization. Ammerman stated that they could possibly be released from parole early once they have finished paying their restitution.
The charges stem from incidents beginning in July of 2008 and ending in August of 2012 when they wrote checks to themselves from the Grampian Penn Bloom Fire Company checking account.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, Scott McCracken was the president of the fire company and the treasurer of the fire police while Jennifer McCracken was the secretary of the fire company and the fire police. They were also in charge of the fire company’s checkbook.
After an examination of the fire company’s records by an accounting firm, it was determined that eight different checks had been written out to Jennifer McCracken, four checks were made out to Scott McCracken and a 13th check was written to a relative of the McCracken’s.
A fire company spokesperson told police there was no reason for a fire company check to be written to them personally.
The total of the checks was $4,350.
A search warrant for the McCracken’s bank accounts uncovered evidence that they were having financial problems.
