EFD840
03-29-2005, 07:01 PM
This just hit the wire down here....
From Alabama Live (http://www.al.com/newsflash/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-12/1112134743185240.xml&storylist=alabamanews)
Huntsville ambulance maker charged with theft
3/29/2005, 4:20 p.m. CT
The Associated Press
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — An ambulance maker is facing multiple theft charges by Huntsville police and possible federal charges in an alleged scam involving thousands of dollars in at least five states.
James F. Agnew, 38, of Huntsville was charged with six counts of first-degree theft, Huntsville Police Investigator Jerry Trew said Monday. Agnew is owner of Innovative Coachworks, an ambulance manufacturing company.
Mike Ponzo, agent in charge of the Huntsville FBI office, said authorities are also investigating a fraud complaint against the company in the Florence area.
"This is a long reaching fraud investigation involving a number of states," Ponzo said. "We'll be coordinating with Huntsville police, but there is definitely a potential for federal prosecution."
The scam involves stolen chassis that have the ambulance boxes — the sections that carry the patients and medical equipment — welded onto them. Desoto County Fire & Rescue in Mississippi apparently ended up with a chassis stolen from an Illinois Ford dealership with the county-owned ambulance box attached to it.
Trew said that others caught up in the alleged scam include Southaven, Miss., $59,933; Barre, Vt., $63,834; Marshall Health Systems in Guntersville $55,327 and Pemscott Memorial Health System in Hayti, Mo., $116,245.
He said a Ford dealership in Huntsville has reported the theft of several chassis valued at about $145,466.
From Alabama Live (http://www.al.com/newsflash/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-12/1112134743185240.xml&storylist=alabamanews)
Huntsville ambulance maker charged with theft
3/29/2005, 4:20 p.m. CT
The Associated Press
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — An ambulance maker is facing multiple theft charges by Huntsville police and possible federal charges in an alleged scam involving thousands of dollars in at least five states.
James F. Agnew, 38, of Huntsville was charged with six counts of first-degree theft, Huntsville Police Investigator Jerry Trew said Monday. Agnew is owner of Innovative Coachworks, an ambulance manufacturing company.
Mike Ponzo, agent in charge of the Huntsville FBI office, said authorities are also investigating a fraud complaint against the company in the Florence area.
"This is a long reaching fraud investigation involving a number of states," Ponzo said. "We'll be coordinating with Huntsville police, but there is definitely a potential for federal prosecution."
The scam involves stolen chassis that have the ambulance boxes — the sections that carry the patients and medical equipment — welded onto them. Desoto County Fire & Rescue in Mississippi apparently ended up with a chassis stolen from an Illinois Ford dealership with the county-owned ambulance box attached to it.
Trew said that others caught up in the alleged scam include Southaven, Miss., $59,933; Barre, Vt., $63,834; Marshall Health Systems in Guntersville $55,327 and Pemscott Memorial Health System in Hayti, Mo., $116,245.
He said a Ford dealership in Huntsville has reported the theft of several chassis valued at about $145,466.