A former treasurer has been charged with embezzling nearly $500,000 from the Carle Place Volunteer & Exempt Fireman’s Benevolent Association.
John Shellock was arraigned on second-degree grand larceny charges in Nassau County on Wednesday before being released.
Shellock, 84, served as the club’s treasurer for three decades, Carle Place Patch reported.
The club contacted Nassau County police in October 2023 after noticing the lack of funds, and they launched an investigation.
“For three decades, this defendant was entrusted with ensuring the financial health of the Carle Place Firemen’s Benevolent Association and ensuring that firefighters and their families received help in their most difficult moments,” Anne Donnelly of Nassau County District Attorney’s Office told Carle Place Patch. “But over the past decade, John Shellock allegedly treated the organization’s coffers like a personal checking account, writing checks to himself and paying off credit card debt. In total, he stole nearly half a million dollars from its funds, undermining the Benevolent Association’s mission.”
During the investigation, they discovered that for over 10 years, Shellock had been writing checks to an account belonging to the group he founded, sometimes forging signatures that others were unaware of, and then writing checks to himself from that second account.
He is said to have stolen $490,000 from the group.
Shellock faces a prison sentence of five to 15 years on these charges.
