I am not a bad person

Bonnie Brannock Davis was a longtime volunteer for the Giles County Lifesaving and Rescue Squad. She also had a good paying, $120k per year, job at The Chemical Lime Company in Ripplemead until she was laid off. She just was sentenced to two months in jail for a $65k theft from the Giles County Lifesaving and Rescue Squad. She was facing up to 100 years. She had no previous criminal history and had volunteered decades as a medic for Giles County Lifesaving and Rescue Squad.

She apologized over and over to the Giles County Lifesaving and Rescue Squad, which she called “the love of my life,” and to her family and the community at large.

Davis repaid the $65k to the non-profit. She stated that she made “anonymous” donations to repay over time. Davis told investigators that she had tried to repay the rescue squad by making anonymous donations. That is what many embezzlers do not understand. It is easier to steal money but much harder to replace the stolen funds. They may have intentions to repay but the mechanics of it are much more difficult to do. However, she did make 2 payments before sentencing to cover the $65k theft.

There was no “extravagant” spending on Davis’ part according to her attorney. I’ve seen this before. They start stealing because of a pressure and it snowballs. In this case Davis was a lifetime member of the non-profit.

People like Davis don’t wake up in the morning and say they are going to steal but at some point something triggers it. In Davis’ case the loss of a good paying job was most likely the trigger.

Davis is on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/bonnie-davis-7b57b76 and from her information was a Deputy a long time ago. After she was let go it appears she started her own business which it seems did not replace her salary.

You just never know. Pay attention to your volunteers and their situations.