Former Chief of Remington, Virginia Fire Department Sentenced for Fraud, Embezzlement

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Douglas G. “Bo” Taylor, age 52, of Remington, Virginia, the former chief of the Remington Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department (RVFD), was sentenced today to 24 months’ incarceration, to be followed by a term of three years of supervised release, by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema in the Eastern District of Virginia for his role in a wire fraud scheme that defrauded the RVFD and the Prince William County School System and the filing of false individual income tax returns. Taylor was also ordered to pay restitution of $70,833 to the Remington Fire Department, $59,419 to the Prince William County Schools, and $79,576 to the Internal Revenue Service.

Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Section, Washington, D.C. Field Office made the announcement today after the sentencing.

According to court records, Taylor served as the chief of the RVFD from 1994 through 2011, during a time when the RVFD fire station underwent major renovations and reconstruction with funding, in significant part, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Taylor, a licensed master electrician, offered to do some of the renovations at the fire station and only seek reimbursement for his out of pocket expenses. Taylor then submitted false invoices which contained charges for materials Taylor did not purchase and charges for labor that, at times, was never performed, or was inflated from the hours that were actually performed. Taylor also used a Prince William County Public Schools System (PWCS) credit card to purchase some of the materials used at the fire station project (and elsewhere). In total, Taylor defrauded the RVFD of more than $80,000 and the PWCS of approximately $60,000. Finally, Taylor did not disclose the money he fraudulently obtained from the RVFD and winnings from the Virginia lottery on two individual income tax returns filed with the IRS.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Washington Field Office, and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Mark D. Lytle is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States. The Office of the U.S. Attorney thanks the following agencies for their assistance in the investigation and prosecution of this matter: United States Department of Agriculture; United States Department of Education, Office of Inspector General; and the Prince William County School System.

Any person who believes they may have information regarding public corruption in the Northern Virginia area is encouraged to call the FBI’s Northern Virginia Public Corruption Hotline at 703-686-6225.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.