ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – The former treasurer of the Ford River Township Volunteer Fire Department is serving jail time for taking fundraising money.
On Monday, Holland appeared in court for his sentencing. He told the judge that he knew he “screwed up.”
“I have to live the rest of my life with it,” Holland said.
Holland’s attorney, Diane Kay-Hougaboom, said he was “in a place of desperation in his life” at the time of the embezzlement.
“He was facing treatment for some very, very serious illness and had very, very serious medical bills and made an absolutely wrong choice in the way to deal with that problem that he found himself in,” Kay-Hougaboom told the judge. “He’s very apologetic to the community and, in particular, the fire department.”
Holland’s felony charge was punishable by up to ten years in prison. However, the prosecution only recommended a sentence of three months since he paid full restitution before his sentencing.
Although restitution has been paid, Ford River Fire Chief Brian Nelson says Holland’s crime has had long-term impacts on the department. A major project that had been started when the embezzlement occurred had to be put on hold. Additionally, the department now has to go through the Township to use any of its fundraising money.
“The fundraising money now, when we do fundraisers, gets turned in to the Township and it is controlled by them,” Nelson said. “It is safer, but we basically have to get approval before we can make expenses and stuff. In the past, if it’s something that we really needed and didn’t want to wait until the next Township meeting, we could go out and purchase it with our fundraising money. Now, we might wait up to a month for the next meeting.”
Nelson calls the judge’s decision “acceptable.” He says the biggest thing Holland took from the fire department was a sense of trust.
“We trust each other with our lives,” he said. “I mean, we have to rebuild that trust.”
According to Nelson, the community has rallied around its firefighters since Holland’s embezzlement came to light. Over the weekend, the department’s pancake breakfast fundraiser saw a large turnout.
“The community has always been there for us,” said Nelson. “We appreciate that. It definitely helps us get through this.”
Immediately after the sentencing hearing, Holland was put into the custody of the Delta County Sheriff’s Office.
