MANSFIELD — The Crestline Fire Department chief pleaded guilty Monday to criminal charges after it was determined he worked full-time jobs for multiple public agencies at the same time, according to state Auditor Keith Faber.
Matthew Wells admitted to felony counts of tampering with records and theft in office during a hearing with Richland County Common Pleas Court Judge Phillip Naumoff.
Both are third-degree felonies.
Wells, who was still listed Tuesday on the Village of Crestline website as the village’s fire chief, is scheduled to be sentenced in July. He had been scheduled to go on trial on Tuesday.
A voice mail was left for village administrator Corey Spackey seeking an update on Wells’ employment status.
In exchange for his plea, other charges were dismissed, including another count of theft in office, multiple additional counts of tampering with records and a single count of telecommunications fraud.
Wells could receive three years in prison for tampering with records and 18 months for theft in office.
He will also make $26,384 in restitution and audit costs, according to a press release from Faber’s office. He will also be barred from public sector employment, presumably meaning his tenure as the Crestline fire chief will end.
The auditor said the alleged theft occurred while Wells was employed by the Ohio Department of Education, the Springfield Township Fire Department in Richland County and the Pleasant Township Fire Department in Marion County and claimed the same work hours for two agencies.
The state auditor’s Special Investigation Unit investigated the case after it received a complaint Wells was being paid by two public entities for the same hours or used paid leave, including sick leave, from one while working for another.
Wells stopped working in the Springfield Township Fire Department when he resigned in July 2021, ending a five-year tenure there.
The state launched its probe Jan. 20, 2022. The original date ranges for the allegations were between Oct. 25, 2016, and July 30, 2021.
In October 2023, Wells was indicted on charges of theft in office, two counts of grand theft and a misdemeanor count of representation by a public official or employee. In April, he was re-indicted on the current charges and the previous case was dismissed.
