TUNBRIDGE, VT — A former fire department bookkeeper was arrested Wednesday on charges of embezzling $186,000 over a 10-year period.
Jacqueline Higgins, 63, of Vershire, was taken into custody and transported to the Berlin Barracks for processing.
The Vermont State Police in Royalton was contacted by the Tunbridge Fire Department on Aug. 11 regarding a possible embezzlement within the volunteer department.
An investigation by state police, including a review of department financial records, revealed that during a period from 2014 through 2025, $186,000 had been embezzled from the department.
Higgins was hired by the Tunbridge Fire Department as a bookkeeper in 1994.
Discrepancies in financial records were found when an audit was started, and Higgins resigned as the bookkeeper.
She was released with a citation to appear for arraignment at 8:30 a.m. Dec. 31 in the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court in Chelsea.
The affidavit of probable cause will be filed with the court and made public following Higgins’ arraignment.
