South Media Fire Company Is Short $50K; Treasurer Is Charged
Terrea Faith Stubbs
On Tuesday, August 6, the volunteer treasurer of the South Media Fire Company was charged with theft of more than $50,000 from the organization over the past 18 months. Terrea Faith Stubbs, herself a South Media resident, faces seven felony charges including theft, forgery, and receiving stolen property. Stubbs’s arrest was announced Tuesday by Nether Providence Township Police Chief David Splain and Delaware County District Attorney Kat Copeland, following a joint investigation which began last month. Stubbs was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Deborah Krull, who will conduct a preliminary hearing on August 19. Bail was set at $25,000.
A South Media volunteer for several years, Stubbs had served since May, 2018 as treasurer of the fire company, with responsibilities that included depositing funds and paying bills, as well as maintaining financial records. In May, 2019, South Media Fire Company personnel first noticed that funds were missing from a cash deposit. Internal review led to the investigation by law enforcement entities.
According to a news release from the D.A.’s office, Stubbs admitted to detectives that she had used the fire company’s credit card for personal purchases and cash withdrawals. Investigators also found that she had written herself dozens of checks and taken cash donated to and raised by the fire company. The funds Stubbs allegedly embezzled were used for gambling and personal expenses, the D.A. reported.
The $50,938 stolen from the fire company would represent more than 35% of South Media Fire Company’s $135,000 annual revenue for 2018. Nether Providence Township supports South Media and Garden City fire companies with donations to each of $63,000 this year.
Nether Providence Commissioner Micah Knapp, whose ward includes South Media, said, “Obviously, we were alarmed by the speed and the scope of the theft from one of the community’s fire companies. Our concern is figuring out how this happened, and how it can be prevented in the future.”
