A Fairbanks Grand Jury has indicted 62-year-old Michael Paschall on two counts of Theft in the First Degree and one count each of Scheme to Defraud, Felony Misapplication of Property, Falsifying Business Records, and Tampering with Physical Evidence.
The Dec. 19 indictment stems from allegations that while in the role of chief/secretary of the Rural Deltana Volunteer Fire Department, Paschall stole more than $400,000 over several years from the Fire Department’s bank account.
Paschall is a former legislative aide to then-Rep. Eric Feige.
Last January, the volunteer fire department in the greater Delta Junction had to shut down operations when it was unable to pay for insurance due to an unexpected budget shortfall. Although suspicions began in 2023, it wasn’t until January that the board of directors became convinced of the alleged thefts, which had been hidden from the board by falsified business records, which Paschall controlled as secretary to the board.
Paschall was separated from the department and left Alaska, taking the fire department’s laptop with him.
The Alaska State Troopers’ Financial Crimes Unit took on the case, which is now being prosecuted by the Alaska Department of Law’s Office of Special Prosecutions.
The court has issued an arrest warrant in the amount of $250,000 with a requirement that Paschall obtain a court-approved third-party custodian.
Also, Superior Court Judge Thomas I. Temple issued a summons, requiring Paschall to appear or call in for his arraignment in Fairbanks on Jan. 8, at 1:30 p.m. No monetary bond was set and it’s not clear where Paschall is located.
Rural Deltana Volunteer Fire Department volunteers has two stations, one in the Clearwater area and one in Big Delta.
The fire department has mutual aid agreements with Delta Junction, Fort Greely, Alyeska Pipeline Service Company at Pump Station 9, and the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry in Delta.
There is A LOT more going on in this little town. We need to have the entire City of Delta Junction investigated as well ! Theres just no over sight from the State of Alaksa and the good ole boy program reigns supreme !
Public servants in a position of trust like this should be prosecuted and, if found guilty, double penalized. No excuses…They steal from the taxpayers, place the public at risk, and give other trustworthy responders a black eye. Book ’em, Dano!
To include state politicians that vote to restrict the amount of the PFD’s till they can figure out how to pilfer the fund !
An accountant- friend told me this summer that his profession sees fraud with volunteer fire departments quite often.
Annual audits are a good way to catch these crooks. Lots of this crap in Alaska…
$400,000 stolen from a rural fire department and nobody noticed until long after the fact?
When in doubt hire BDO…
They have a office in Anchorage…
The money police…
Forensic accountants…
And they are global…
Start a Go-Me-Fund and hire them…
Watch the Fireworks show…
Feige was a Representative not a Senator,
Good Lord! We can’t even trust a small town Fire Chief ANYONE abusing taxpayer money needs to be taken behind the barn and have a little chat.
If Temple winds up being the judge in this the guy will get 6 months of probation.
If this happens, they’ll need to check out the judge for his insanity as well.
I do not believe there has been an arrest warrant issued yet. Also it was due to a laps of payment of insurance and not a lack of funds. No insurance company would issue professional Liability off premise due to no insurance for sometime. Paperwork showed it was paid for but it was not. The City of Delta Junction and its Fire department have been a great help in aid and service.
I believe Grier that it was the inability to pay for the water tenders -and inability to provide real bank statements to a local 501c4 that had provided donations yearly. I do appreciate that finally my statements about issues were looked at-but it is hard to believe that it took over a year to get someone to really start looking into the issues.