Police: Ind. Paramedic Scammed Colleagues by Lying About Cancer

May 09--Authorities say a paramedic with the Mishawaka fire department scammed police officers and firefighters out of money by falsely claiming he had cancer and needed help paying for treatments.

Sam R. Young, 50, is charged with two counts of theft. He was arrested Sunday and released the same day after posting $1,000 bond, according to St. Joseph County Jail Records.

According to court documents, Young approached police officers and firefighters on multiple occasions and asked for money, sometimes as much as $1,000. After promising to pay the money back, he either wrote bad checks or kept delaying the repayment, prosecutors alleged.

The theft charges resulted from two separate cases -- one dating to October and the other to March -- but Young admitted that he lied to more people about having cancer, and police are investigating those cases, according to prosecutors.

The investigation of Young started April 12, after a Mishawaka police officer told South Bend police he gave Young a $1,000 loan in October 2015 after Young said he needed the money to pay for his cancer treatments.

Though Young agreed to repay the money, he never followed through on his promise, and the police officer eventually learned that Young lied about the cancer, according to the documents.

A Mishawaka firefighter also told police he gave Young $800 in March because Young said he needed the money to pay his rent. Young later left a check in his colleague's locker, but the check bounced, the firefighter told police.

Although Young is a paramedic with the Mishawaka Fire Department, he is a civilian and not a sworn firefighter, said Geoff Spiess, the city's corporation counsel.

Young has been suspended without pay "indefinitely" while city officials review the matter, Spiess said. Because Young is a civilian employee, Spiess said, the city could fire him at any time without asking the Board of Public Works and Safety for approval.

Young, who is listed in court records as a U.S. Air Force veteran, was arraigned by a St. Joseph Superior Court magistrate Monday and is scheduled to appear May 16 for an initial hearing before a judge. He told the magistrate he planned to hire a private attorney, but none was listed in court records Monday.

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