NASHVILLE – A former accountant for Decatur, Tennessee-based Volunteer Energy Cooperative has been indicted on charges he stole nearly $1 million from the rural electric cooperative that distributes power to all or parts of 17 counties.
Tennessee Comptroller Justin Wilson’s office today announced the indictment of Jason Kittle by the Meigs County Grand Jury this month on a charge of theft over $25,000.
The Comptroller’s Office and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation initiated their investigation at the request of District Attorney General Russell Johnson of the Ninth Judicial District after Volunteer Energy Cooperative officials reported questionable transactions in VEC bank records.
The nonprofit VEC serves more than 115,900 customers in Tennessee with more than 10,000 miles of power lines stretching from Georgia to the Kentucky border.
According to the investigation, Kittle allegedly stole at least $994,981 between June 2011 and December 2017.