South Greensburg fire chief accused of stealing nearly $178K from the department
The South Greensburg fire chief is now under arrest, accused of stealing nearly $178,000 from his own department.
Pennsylvania State Police say Matthew White was taken into custody in South Carolina after what began as a welfare check quickly turned into a criminal investigation.
State police say they were trying to find the chief, not missing money. But while reviewing his bank activity and a department debit card he had access to, troopers spotted a $3,000 transfer into his personal account, which led to a pattern of theft going back to at least 2023, totaling nearly $178,000.
"Our investigation was strictly for his well-being and trying to find Mr. White and make sure he was OK," Trooper Steve Limani said.
That effort to locate white quickly shifted focus.
"Dealing with the fire department and trying to find financials to help us locate him, it snowballed into the investigation we have right now," Trooper Limani added.
Investigators say White used the fire department's bank account to make purchases labeled as donations.
From there, they say he transferred the money into a Citizens Bank account linked to himself.
"That's where we're at right now with the investigation, trying to find out exactly where the money was coming in and what he was doing with the money once he had it, where it was going," trooper Limani said.
This case is prompting questions about oversight, specifically how the department's accounts were managed and what financial safeguards were in place.
"It's a large sum of money. That's the part that's scary. How did that amount of money get moved, and I think just having a lack of checks and balances is where that is the stopgap in what caused this, because right now, we don't have any reason to believe somebody else was involved."
White is expected to be brought back to Pennsylvania to face charges. State police say they will continue reviewing financial records to determine if additional charges will be filed.
