Update: Taylor's partner had resigned from Lebanon Rural Fire Protection District following the district's investigation. News of the resignation came from Chief Phillip Pitts the day of publication, and the author forgot to update the original story. We will aim to make a note in our Wednesday issue as well.
The fiancé of a rural firefighter has been charged with a single felony count of stealing $750 or more following fraud allegations. The allegations against Stephanie Taylor arose due to a GoFundMe the defendant had managed which raised a total of $9,460
Following a December fire in which the Lay family’s house burned down, the probable cause statement reports noted that Taylor’s husband, then a volunteer firefighter at Stoutland and Sleeper (the responding agency to the fire) reached out to the alleged victim about raising donations through GoFundMe, a crowdfunding platform.
Taylor’s fiancé, while alleged to have been in contact with the victim over the GoFundMe, had not been charged at the time of the probable cause statement’s filing and was noted in the statement as not being a suspect.
The alleged victim, according to the probable cause statement, had received a $1,500 payment from Taylor on December 10, not receiving additional funds until a January 2 payment of $400 after reaching out to Taylor.
Despite Taylor claiming the payments would continue in $400 weekly increments, the statement notes that the alleged victim did not receive further payments with Taylor eventually claiming the account was frozen.
For more on this story, see Saturday's LCR.
