TAMPA, Fla. — Authorities say that a man from Tampa stole almost $240,000 from the Salvation Army in St. Petersburg while he was working there. He is being charged with several crimes.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida says that Tampa resident Kenneth Fowler was charged with three counts of making and filing false federal income tax returns.
An indictment says that Fowler stole money from the Salvation Army Suncoast Adult Rehabilitation Center in St. Petersburg where she worked as a payroll coordinator between the end of December 2013 and August 2018.
Authorities said that Fowler changed records to make it look like Salvation Army employees who no longer worked there were still getting paid. Fowler is said to have taken their paychecks, signed them with fake signatures, and put the money into his own bank accounts.
The attorney’s office said that Fowler also sent direct deposit checks from the old employees’ bank accounts to his own bank account. “In this way, Fowler got more than $239,000 from the Salvation Army that he didn’t deserve.”
If he is found guilty, he could spend up to three years in prison for each count.
