FRANKLIN COUNTY, Pa. — A township supervisor in Franklin County has been charged with stealing approximately $150,000 of taxpayer money to fund improvements on his own property, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Wednesday.
The 45th Investigation Statewide Grand Jury charged Quincy Township Supervisor Kerry Bumbaugh, 56, with with two counts of Conflict of Interest, two counts of Theft of Services, Theft by Unlawful Taking, three counts of Theft by Deception, Insurance Fraud, Forgery, two counts of Tampering with Public Records, two counts of Tampering with Records or Identification, Attempted Tampering or Fabricating Physical Evidence, and Securing Execution of Documents by Deception, Shapiro said in a press release.
The investigation was conducted in partnership with the FBI, according to Shapiro.
“Kerry Bumbaugh abused his authority as Township Supervisor to steal from taxpayers and build pet projects at his home,” said Shapiro. “Thanks to our ongoing collaboration with federal law enforcement, we were able to uncover Mr. Bumbaugh’s crimes and take this step towards restoring trust for Quincy Township residents. My office will continue to uncover corruption wherever it’s found, without fear or favor.”
Bumbaugh, of Waynesboro, is accused of using his position of power for his own financial gain. He allegedly required township employees to perform work improving his private residence while they should have been working for the township, Shapiro said.
He is also being charged with creating manipulated and falsified documents in order to cheat governmental grant providers, and other funding sources, by regularly inflating invoices to cover both personal and township expenses, according to Shapiro.
“When elected officials misdirect public money for personal gain, they’re breaching the trust of their constituents — and breaking the law,” said Michael J. Driscoll, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “The FBI is committed to working with our state partners to investigate and hold accountable unscrupulous public officials. We simply can’t permit such corruption to go unchecked.”
In order to pull off his scheme, Bumbaugh allegedly submitted a forged document to the township’s insurance company, claiming that he had entered into an agreement with the township that they would assume liability for any damage as a result of a water line installation that ran through his property, investigators determined.
As a result, in 2018, Bumbaugh received nearly $100,000 from the township’s insurance company, according to Shapiro. However, rather than using the funds he stole from the insurer, Bumbaugh allegedly directed township employees to perform several weeks of full-time work demolishing a damaged wall on his property during regular work hours, Shapiro said.
In 2019, after the damaged walls on his property were rebuilt, Bumbaugh had his enormous driveway repaired and paved by an outside contractor, according to Shapiro.
In order to avoid any out of pocket cost, Bumbaugh manipulated and falsified invoices in order to create the appearance that his home improvement project was part of a road improvement project funded by monies that should have been allocated to the township by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, according to Shapiro.
Not only did Bumbaugh divert over $10,000 of machine and labor costs to pay for his driveway, but Quincy Township also footed the expensive bill – over $20,000 – for all of the materials used to complete the work, Shapiro claims.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorney General Megan Madaffari.
