WV volunteer fire official pleads guilty to insurance fraud after setting his house on fire

A former West Virginia volunteer fire official is awaiting sentencing after admitting to setting fire to his home, filing an insurance claim and using the fire department’s credit card for personal gain.

Donald A. Ennis, 43, of St. Albans, pleaded guilty this week in federal court. In 2021, he fraudulently obtained an insurance payment on his home of $161,100 for the home and $120,825 for the contents, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia said in a statement.

A fire completely engulfed the property on Feb. 15, 2021, and fire crews were unable to contain it, according to the crime report filed in the case. The Bloomington, Illinois-based property insurance company has not been named. The annual premium was less than $980.

As finance and operations manager for a volunteer fire department in Kanawha County, Ennis also racked up $153,700 in charges to the department’s credit card through ATM withdrawals and purchases in 2020, 2021 and 2022. prosecutors said. Among other items, he purchased a winch kit, brake lines and other parts for his Jeep, along with an air compressor, the court document states.

The fire department was funded in part by the Kanawha County Commission.

Ennis is due to be sentenced on November 18. He could face up to 40 years in prison on each charge, a fine of more than $500,000 and likely be required to pay more than $500,000 in restitution and forfeit property and other assets.

The U.S. Attorney credited the West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner, the State Auditor’s Office and the FBI with investigating the case.

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West Virginia Fraud Trends