Former Mo. EMS Chief Sentenced to Prison for Fraud

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

A former Washington County Ambulance District administrator was sentenced to two years in prison for stealing tens of thousands of dollars from the district.

William Gum, 49, of Potosi, was also ordered to pay $150,000 in restitution to the ambulance district and $95,000 to the federal government.

Gum pleaded guilty in November to four counts of public corruption for defrauding a federal program.

While working as the administrator for the ambulance district, Gum regularly padded his salary and gave himself additional benefits from public funding, while also being paid by the Potosi Police Department in his part-time role as a police captain, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri said. Gum also used district funds to pay health insurance benefits for his family members against district policy.

Over about a decade, Gum embezzled more than $262,000 from the district.

Gum's wife, Charlena Gum, 44, who also worked for the district, pleaded guilty in August to a charge of device fraud and admitted to making large personal purchases on the district's credit card.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department.