BLUFFTON, Ind. — Wells County EMS Director Tina Crouse is accused of putting purchases totaling $11,074.45 on EMS credit cards for items that cannot be accounted for by the EMS.
Among the purchases Crouse is accused of making are three TVs, a Dyson vacuum, a water heater, a radiator, a toilet, bedding, curtains, pillows, cookware, and groceries.
Officers arrested Crouse on Friday afternoon. Bond was set at $380,000.
The investigation into Crouse started in June when an anonymous tip was left with crime stoppers. The tip said that the EMS director was purchasing Nubain and keeping it for herself; Nubian is a pain killer used post-surgeries and post-delivery.
The tip said Crouse was ordering the drug under the EMS’s Medical Director’s DEA number without the Medical Director’s knowledge.
During the investigation, the Indiana State Police received two more anonymous phone calls both with the same kind of information regarding the Nubian. The callers also believed Crouse was buying things, such as ceiling fans and landscaping materials, with EMS funds that never made it to any EMS locations.
Crouse faces 76 Class D Felony Theft charges. The EMS Service’s attorney, Don Swanson, believes Crouse has been stealing from the foundation for the last couple of years. Swanson believes it went unnoticed because all of the ordering and payments went through Crouse. A board reviewed items she purchased, but if amounts were less than $200 they never looked into it.
Reprinted with permission of wane.com