By VDC staff
A longtime bookkeeper for the Tunbridge Fire Department has been charged with embezzling more than $180,000 from the volunteer department over a 10-year period, Vermont State Police said Wednesday.
Detective Trooper Mengbei Wang of the Royalton Barracks said the department contacted state police on Aug. 11, after discovering possible financial irregularities. An investigation and review of department financial records revealed that approximately $186,000 had been taken between 2014 and 2025.
Police identified the suspect as Jacqueline Higgins, 63, of Vershire, who had worked as the department’s bookkeeper since 1994. Investigators said discrepancies were uncovered during an audit, after which Higgins resigned from her position.
Higgins was arrested Wednesday, Nov. 5, and processed at the Berlin Barracks. She was released with a citation to appear at 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 31, in Vermont Superior Court, Criminal Division, in Chelsea.
The affidavit of probable cause will be made public following Higgins’ arraignment.