Fire chief charged city $22,000 for overtime he never worked, Louisiana police say
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A Louisiana fire chief is behind bars after state authorities say he logged overtime hours he never worked, helping himself to more than $22,000 in taxpayer funds.
City of Baker Fire Chief Christopher Hunt was arrested and charged Thursday, March 10, on counts of public payroll fraud, felony theft over $5,000, computer fraud and malfeasance in office, Louisiana State Police announced in a news release.
The agency launched an investigation into Hunt, 49, last year after it received a complaint about “alleged payroll fraud,” authorities said. Their investigation found the fire chief used computer-based software to create bogus time entries, showing he had worked hundreds of hours in overtime when he had not.
Officials compared electronic payroll records to a supervisor’s logbook used to track employees’ overtime and saw the hours Hunt claimed he’d worked far exceeded those he had actually worked, The Advocate reported, citing a criminal affidavit.
In all, the chief had logged 372 fake overtime hours, investigators said, according to the newspaper.
“At a rate of $59.94 per hour, the false payroll entries earned Hunt a total of $22,297.68,” The Advocate reported.
Hunt was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison, where he remained held as of Friday, March 10, online records show.
Baker is about 10 miles north of Baton Rouge.
This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 4:10 PM with the headline "Fire chief charged city $22,000 for overtime he never worked, Louisiana police say."