Man Accused Of Embezzling $239K From St. Pete Salvation Army: DOJ

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A Tampa man is accused of embezzling $239,00 from the Salvation Army Suncoast Adult Rehabilitation Center in St. Petersburg, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.

Kenneth Fowler faces three counts of making and filing false income tax returns. He faces a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment for each count, the agency said.

Between December 2013 and August 2018, Fowler, who was working as the payroll coordinator for the Salvation Army center, schemed to embezzle funds from the organization.

Fowler altered records to make it seem as though employees who had left the Salvation Arm were still on its payroll so that he could collect their paychecks, the DOJ said. He forged their signatures and deposited the checks into his own personal bank accounts.

He also misdirected direct deposit checks from the former employees’ bank accounts into his own personal bank account.

He stole more than $239,000, the DOJ said. He never included these stolen funds as income on his 2016, 2017 and 2018 individual income tax returns, avoiding the payment of federal taxes.