Former Show Low Fire District Chief Ben Owens will pay $124,656 in restitution to the SLFD after pleading guilty to three felonies in connection with his daughter-in-law Natalie Bingham.
Bingham stole about $1.8 million when she was district administrative manager, an amount likely to be the largest embezzlement from a special taxing district in Arizona history.
According to the Arizona Auditor General’s Office, she embezzled a little less than $1.8 million in 474 checks written to herself, Owens (her father-in-law) and her fianceé.
Owens was the Show Low fire chief for 15 years, from 1998 to 2012, when he retired June 30 of that year. He oversaw the department’s transition from a volunteer to a professional force. Show Low Fire District later combined with departments in Linden and Lakeside to form the Timber Mesa Fire and Medial District.