Iowa EMT Ordered to Pay Back $83K Stolen from Rescue Squad

Sioux City Journal, Iowa

The former secretary/treasurer of the Anthon, Iowa, rescue squad has been ordered to repay more than $83,000 of the agency's money a judge says she spent on personal items and expenses.

District Judge Steven Andreasen ruled that financial records and an Iowa State Auditor's report presented during a December 2018 trial showed that Kristine Roggatz had used the squad's bank accounts and credit cards to make purchases "above and beyond the reasonable and related expenditures for the rescue squad."

Andreasen entered an $83,713.41 judgment against Roggatz on Wednesday, saying in his ruling that the rescue squad was entitled to $76,837.62 that she spent and the $6,875.79 cost of the state audit.

Reimbursed by its insurance carrier for the losses, the city of Anthon sued Roggatz in December 2017 on behalf of the carrier.

Roggatz, who was an EMT on the squad, served as secretary/treasurer from approximately 2003 until the spring of 2014. The city and rescue squad requested a state auditor's investigation after they were contacted by a collection agency about a credit card they had been unaware had been established in the squad's name.

The subsequent investigation found improper disbursements from January 2009 through December 2014. The majority of the payments were made on credit cards from Staples and other credit cards established in Roggatz' name.

Auditors also identified cash withdrawals made at ATMs and purchases from phone service providers, online vendors and retail vendors.