Dallas firefighter allegedly faked his family’s Covid-19 diagnoses and took paid leave to go to a resort
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By Ashley Killough and Amir Vera, CNN
A Dallas firefighter was charged with theft after allegedly taking paid leave for nearly a month while lying about testing positive for Covid-19.
William Jordan Carter, 38, who’s been with the Dallas Fire-Rescue Department for 14 years, was arrested Friday, and bail was set at $1,500, according to court records. He was no longer in custody as of Wednesday.
Carter requested time off on March 24 because his wife had Covid-19, according to an affidavit for his arrest warrant. A week later, he requested another week, saying his daughter had tested positive for the virus. Two days before he was set to return to work, Carter reported to the department he was sick and had tested positive for Covid, the affidavit says.
The fire department has a policy of recommending first responders stay home if they test positive or if someone they lived with tested positive.
When Deputy Chief Lauren Johnson asked Carter to provide a copy of his test results, he told Johnson he hadn’t been tested but thought he had the virus, the affidavit states. Carter also failed to provide documentation of his family’s test results. The deputy chief asked Carter why he made up the false claims.
“Greed, I guess,” Carter responded, according to the affidavit.
It is unclear whether Carter has an attorney and CNN’s attempts to reach him were unsuccessful Wednesday night.
Bank records in the affidavit show Carter made several purchases in Central Texas in mid-April during his time off, including nearly $1,400 at Kalahari Resort, a large indoor water park and resort in Round Rock, Texas, about 180 miles south of Dallas.
Court documents state that Carter received $12,548.86 in three separate payrolls over the course of his leave. His Covid-19 leave was funded by a collection of tax dollars, sales taxes and fines, according to the affidavit.
“Suspect Carter unlawfully appropriated money, with the intent to deprive the City of Dallas, by intentionally deceiving his chain of command by creating a false impression of fact that affected their judgment in the transaction of approving his payroll coded for COVID-19 leave: thereby committing Theft,” the affidavit stated.
During Carter’s leave, he received daily check-ins from the fire department as part of its daily monitor program, in case the employee’s condition worsens while on leave. He was contacted by text or phone call each day, and a daily report of his time off was submitted to a public integrity unit, according to the affidavit.
Jason Evans, a spokesman for Dallas Fire-Rescue, confirmed that Carter is on paid administrative leave while an internal investigation is underway.
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