Former Fire Treasurer Charged

News Release: From: Assistant to U.S. Attorneys Office FORMER GERMAN TOWNSHIP FIRE DEPARTMENT TREASURER CHARGED WITH FORGERY AND FILING FALSE TAX RETURNS Timothy M. Morrison, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, announced that SUSAN D. WARGEL, 43, of Mount Vernon, Indiana, was charged today with one count of forging a security of an organization, and four counts of filing false individual income tax returns, following an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Secret Service and the Vanderburgh County Sheriffs Department. The charging document alleges that WARGEL, while acting as the Treasurer of the German Township Volunteer Fire Department, between July 1, 2002, and October 1, 2007, forged the signature of a fire department board member on approximately 352 checks from the German Township Fire Departments checking account and used the funds gained for her personal benefit, such as making personal credit card, utility, automobile, and mortgage payments. WARGEL allegedly received the benefit of approximately $263,331 as a result of the forgery scheme. WARGEL also purportedly failed to report the funds she received from the forgery scheme on her federal income tax returns for the years 2003 to 2006. The total amount of the alleged unreported income for these years is about $200,000. According to Assistant U. S. Attorney Todd S. Shellenbarger, who is prosecuting the case for the government, WARGEL faces a maximum possible prison sentence of 10 years and a maximum possible fine of $250,000. An initial hearing will be scheduled before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Evansville, Indiana.