District Attorney's Office Investigating Former Patterson Fire Chief for Misappropriation of Funds

According to the Louisiana Legislative Auditor, the former fire chief of the Patterson Volunteer Fire Department is believed to have made personal purchases and/or ATM withdrawals totaling $14,774 using a debit card linked to a checking account owned by the fire department.
Those transactions allegedly occurred from January 2016 through August 2019. Upon discovery, the debit card was seized and frozen. Former Chief Scott Domingue resigned in August 2019.  Later that day, Scott Hutton was appointed as chief by the city council. Hutton’s appointment was at the request of the fire department.
Additionally, purchases totaling $13,587 have been identified that could not be determined to have been for fire department operations. Domingue had sole access and control over the debit card for the fire department.
The report from the auditor’s office also says that reporting of fire department activities to the membership was very limited.
The investigation into the matter is ongoing and being conducted by officers of the fire department and the 16th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. No formal charges have yet been filed.
To date, cash and materials totaling at least $6,522 have been recovered by the  fire department.
Patterson Mayor Rodney Grogan told KQKI News on Tuesday morning that city officials conducted an internal investigation and properly notified the district attorney and the Legislative Auditor’s office of this matter.