Dallas firefighter allegedly faked his family’s Covid-19 diagnoses and took paid leave to go to a resort
By Ashley Killough and Amir Vera, CNN
A Dallas firefighter was charged with theft after allegedly taking almost a month of paid vacation while lying about a test positive for Covid-19.
William Jordan Carter, 38, who has been with the Dallas Fire-Rescue Department for 14 years, was arrested Friday and bail was set at $ 1,500, according to court records. He has not been in custody since Wednesday.
Carter applied for time off on March 24 because his wife had Covid-19, according to an affidavit on his arrest warrant. A week later, he requested another week and said his daughter had tested positive for the virus. Two days before returning to work, Carter reported to the department that he was sick and tested positive for Covid, the affidavit said.
The fire department recommends that first responders stay home if they test positive or if someone they lived with tests positive.
When deputy chief Lauren Johnson asked Carter to provide a copy of his test results, he told Johnson that he had not been tested but thought he had the virus, the affidavit said. Carter also failed to document his family’s test results. The assistant chief asked Carter why he was making the false claims.
“Greed, I guess,” Carter replied on an affidavit.
It’s unclear if Carter has a lawyer and CNN’s attempts to reach him were unsuccessful on Wednesday night.
Bank records in the affidavit indicate that Carter made multiple purchases in central Texas during his spare time in mid-April, including nearly $ 1,400 at the Kalahari Resort, a large indoor water park and resort in Round Rock, Texas, about 180 miles south of Dallas.
Court documents state that Carter received $ 12,548.86 on three separate payrolls over the course of his vacation. His Covid-19 vacation was funded by a collection of taxpayers’ money, sales taxes and fines, according to an affidavit.
“Suspects Carter improperly appropriated money to rob the city of Dallas by deliberately deceiving his chain of command by creating the false impression of facts that influenced their judgment in approving his COVID-19 vacation coded payroll : To commit theft, “says the affidavit.
During Carter’s vacation, he received daily check-ins from the fire department as part of the daily surveillance program in case the employee’s condition worsened during the vacation. He was contacted every day by text message or phone call, and according to the affidavit, a daily report of his free time was filed with a public integrity agency.
Jason Evans, a spokesman for Dallas Fire-Rescue, confirmed that Carter is on paid administrative leave during an internal investigation.
The CNN Wire
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