The CEO of the now-closed Dunsmuir company FireWhat has agreed to plead guilty to seven counts of major fraud relating to FEMA grant funds he administered for the Siskiyou and Shasta county fire chiefs associations.
Sam Lanier, age 40 of Dunsmuir, faces 10 years in prison and a $10 million fine, according to information released today by the US Attorney’s Office.
According to court documents, from approximately June 2013 to March 2018, Lanier “engaged in a scheme to defraud the United States by submitting, or causing to be submitted, false reimbursement requests to the Federal Emergency Management Agency in connection with federal grants awarded to Siskiyou and Shasta County Fire Chiefs Associations to assist them in recruiting and training new firefighters,” according to a press release.