A Putnam County Grand Jury this week indicted former Cookeville Fire Department Captain Marvin Montgomery for theft over $10,000, and current Captain Shawn Roberson for theft over $2,500.

According to the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office, both Montgomery and Roberson not only worked at the Cookeville Fire Department, but also as part-time instructors at the Tennessee Fire and Codes Enforcement Academy. Investigators say they found that both had ‘double-dipped’ their paychecks, getting paid by both the city and academy for working the same hours at both locations.

The report from the comptroller’s office states from January 2017 to February 2019, Montgomery claimed pay for 1,345 hours that he didn’t work, and was paid more than $32,000 from the fire department that he wasn’t entitled to.

After the investigation began, Montgomery retired from the fire department in March 2019. At the time of his separation, the city had collected about $16,100 from his accrued leave balance. Investigators say he still owes the city $16,118.

Investigators say Captain Roberson was paid just over $2,600 by the fire department for 109.5 hours he didn’t work. This also happened from January 2017 to February 2019, when Roberson was serving a lieutenant.

The report also revealed issues at the Cookeville Fire Department (CFD).

Investigators say employees sometimes paid cash to other employees to work their 24-hour shifts, preventing CFD from correctly documenting who worked what shift. It also caused problems for overtime pay and withholding of federal taxes, along with potential liabilities for the city should these off-the-clock employees working for cash be injured on the job. The state also cited a lack of management oversight at the fire department in the payroll fiasco. They said the fire chief worked directly with Montgomery at the fire station each day, and was responsible for approving any leave the captain should have taken to work at the Academy. Roberson, who was third in the chain of command, also worked at the station, and Montgomery was responsible for approving his leave.