Two former officials from the now-defunct Morrisville Ambulance Squad have been charged with stealing some $130,000 through misuse of company bank accounts and insurance fraud.

Ex-chief Brian Michael Eckert, 41, of Falls, and former operations supervisor Ruth “Roxy” Rookstool, 58, of Morrisville, each were charged Nov. 8 with multiple felony counts of theft, receiving stolen property, identity theft, forgery, various computer crimes and criminal conspiracy, as well as misdemeanor counts of insurance fraud.

Bucks County Detectives, alerted to allegations of theft by members of the ambulance squad, began investigating in July and determined Eckert and Rookstool used company credit cards and checks between 2011 and March 2018 to make unauthorized payments on, among other things, personal credit card debt, veterinary care and a squad member’s honeymoon.

The fraudulent checks contained the signature stamp of squad president Laurie Hoffer, which was imprinted on the checks with a signature stamp used without Hoffer’s authorization.

Rookstool also sought and received fraudulent reimbursements from the ambulance squad.

Eckert and Rookstool further conspired to fraudulently enroll Rookstool in health and dental insurance policies during a period of time in which Rookstool was not working for the company. During this time, Morrisville Ambulance Squad paid some $27,000 in insurance premiums, while the insurance companies paid out more than $65,000 in claims.

Rookstool directly stole $101,634.55, while Eckert stole $30,785.44.

After Rookstool turned herself in Tuesday morning, District Judge John Durkin set bail at $50,000 unsecured. Eckert was arraigned last week before the same judge and released on $30,000 unsecured bail.

Deputy District Attorney Marc J. Furber will handle prosecution in the case.

Criminal charges are allegations subject to proof in court. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Contact: Marc J. Furber, 215.348.6339,mjfurber@buckscounty.org