Center Point Fire and Rescue statement concerning the Tennessee Comptroller’s report released Friday.

In early 2023 we discovered possible fraudulent fuel charges on our account. An immediate investigation was conducted and Bradley Lee was identified as the person who fraudulently used the gas card of a truck that had been sold in late 2022.

Members met with Lee and agreed he would pay restitution and continue to serve the department on a probationary basis. Terms of his probation removed his ability to interact with the finances of the department including fueling vehicles. Lee voluntarily reduced his involvement with the department pending the outcome of the State’s investigation. As of today Lee has resigned from the department.

The Comptroller’s Report lists two deficiencies:
Failure to require receipts after fuel purchases and failure to deactivate an unassigned fuel card. Once the unauthorized charges were identified we immediately added the requirement to get a receipt with each fueling and accounted for all fuel cards. This new system has worked well and is in line with other expense reporting practices we have.

This is an ongoing investigation therefore all inquiries need to be made to the District Attorney’s office or the Tennessee Comptroller’s office.

The department contact for this matter is Derrick Thomas and he can be reached by messaging this page.