Ex-Tornado, WV, Firefighter Gets Prison for Bilking $500K from Department, Insurance Company

A former Tornado volunteer firefighter was sentenced to almost three years in federal prison for defrauding both an insurance company and his volunteer fire department — now called West Side Volunteer Fire Department No. 2.

Last August, Donald A. Ennis, 43, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud. He gained more than $500,000 from his schemes, which he will be required to pay back, according to court documents.

Former St. Albans firefighter pleads guilty to arson fraud, stealing from Tornado VFD

A former St. Albans volunteer firefighter pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to defrauding his insurance company through arson and stealing money from the former Tornado Volunteer Fire Department.

Arson

According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia, Ennis admitted he intentionally set fire to his Ridgeview Way home in St. Albans on Feb. 15, 2021.

The house was a total loss, according to a court document, and pets died in the fire. Ennis reported the loss to his insurance company as an accident and received more than $347,000.

Defrauding volunteer fire department

From 2009 to 2022, Ennis worked for the Tornado Volunteer Fire Department. As the finance and operations manager, Ennis had access to the fire department’s funds. From around March 2020 to September 2022, Ennis used the fire department’s debit card for about $154,000 of personal purchases, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

In a court filing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Erik Goes wrote about the importance of deterring “those who are in positions of trust” from stealing from agencies such as volunteer fire departments.

“Many parts of this state (and the nation) rely exclusively on volunteer fire departments for fire protection,” Goes wrote. “They are a precious 'common good' resource whose monies and donations should be carefully preserved from criminality, especially from members entrusted with Department monies.”

Goes wrote that nothing in Ennis’ background pointed to “such levels of criminal conduct.”

“It is baffling why, with seemingly everything going for him, Defendant would risk so much by engaging in these two fraud schemes. And yet he did,” Goes wrote. “His poor choices have serious criminal consequences for the innocent victims in particular and society at large. Whatever led him to such fraudulent endeavors calls for a strong message to be sent to him and any others so inclined.”

Last year, Danny Dalton, deputy fire chief at West Side No. 2, said it was Ennis’ actions that led to the restructuring and renaming of the department in 2022. The board of the West Side Volunteer Fire Department took over management.

Mental health issues

Ennis’ attorney, Assistant Federal Public Defender Rachel E. Zimarowski, wrote in a court filing that Ennis’ actions were caused by his mental health issues.

According to Zimarowski, Ennis was a paramedic with the Kanawha County Emergency Ambulance Authority for almost 20 years. Due to the nature of his work, he has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder.

“Mindless spending” was a “self-soothing behavior,” Zimarowski wrote.

“Mr. Ennis spent years studiously avoiding the growing knot in his stomach. Facing what he did, what he was doing, was too much to bear; it was easier to lean into his disordered thinking and tell himself that the credit card was his own, that the fire was an accident,” Zimarowski wrote.

Without Ennis’ cooperation, authorities may have not discovered the arson, according to Zimarowski.

Ennis is addressing his mental health issues through therapy and medication, and his “life’s ambition is to repay what he took and undo, as best he can, the damage he caused,” Zimarowski wrote, asking for a sentence that did not include incarceration.

Sentence

On Wednesday, Judge Joseph R. Goodwin of the Southern District of West Virginia sentenced Ennis to 33 months imprisonment. Goodwin recommended that Ennis be housed as close to St. Albans as possible in a minimum-security facility.

After release, Ennis will be on probation for three years. He is required to pay back $513,000 in restitution.

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