Brown embezzeled from fire district

Former Deschutes County Sheriff Greg Brown will return $390,378.16 to the Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District as part of a plea agreement with Federal prosecutors.

Brown allegedly misappropriated the funds while serving as president of the RFPD board of directors. Brown served on the board since 1985 and served many years as president. He also acted as a grant writer for the district.

According to a resolution passed by the district board Wednesday morning, October 16, "the district has now been advised by the U.S. Attorney's office that a criminal information and plea agreement is contemplated to resolve the criminal and civil issues involving Greg Brown; and ... one of the requirements is a repayment/refunding of funds Brown wrongfully appropriated from the district."

The district, in the resolution, agreed to accept the $390,378.16 as restitution. The resolution states that the district has already recovered in excess of $50,000 of district funds and property.

The former sheriff has been under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a year regarding fire district finances. There was also an ongoing investigation concerning alleged financial discrepancies and missing public records in the sheriff's office.

The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office and the Board of County Commissioners are scheduled to hold a joint press conference regarding the county's part of the investigation at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Brown was scheduled to appear before a Federal judge in Eugene at 11 a.m. Wednesday for a plea hearing. According to a board statement to fire department members, "if all goes as anticipated, the guilty plea will be entered with the final conclusion most probably occurring sometime in January 2003."

Board president Stephen Spear declined further comment until after the plea hearing.

Last February, the board formally renounced a "purported employment contract" with Brown and authorized actions to recover any funds paid as part of such an agreement. At that time, the board noted that "no district records exist showing approval by the board of directors of an employment agreement between Greg Brown and the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire Protection District."

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Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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