Former Caldwell County Fire Chief Arrested

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey Tuesday (October 29) announced the arrest of a former fire chief in Caldwell County on charges of embezzling $155,299 from his volunteer fire department.

49-year-old Bryan Jason Edwards of Grace Chapel Road in Granite Falls, was charged with embezzlement, common law forgery and six counts of obtaining property by false pretense.

Special agents with the Department of Insurance’s Criminal Investigations Division accuse Edwards, a former chief at Grace Chapel Volunteer Fire Department, of obtaining the funds from the fire department by falsifying the hours he worked for the fire department on time sheets from 2019 to 2023.

The Department’s special agents worked with detectives from the Caldwell County Sheriff’s office in the investigation. Caldwell County deputies assisted in arresting Edwards. He was given a $50,000 secured bond. A District Court date was scheduled today (October 30).

Story: Rob Eastwood-WHKY