He Was on Paid COVID Leave. Then They Asked to See the Tests

Dallas firefighter William Carter has been charged with felony theft
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 4, 2021 1:26 PM CDT
Firefighter Allegedly Lied About COVID, Went on Vacation
Court records state that Carter told his supervisor he just didn't want to go to work.   (Getty Images/Matt277)

The pandemic hit Dallas firefighter William Jordan Carter's family hard, his employer thought: He received weeks of paid time off after reporting that first his wife and then his daughter had tested positive for COVID-19. Two days before he was due to return to work, he said he had also tested positive. But when the deputy chief asked the 38-year-old for copies of the test results, it emerged that his claims weren't true, none of the family had even been tested for the virus, and Carter went on vacation to a water park during some of the time he had claimed to be isolating at home, reports the Washington Post. Carter was arrested Friday and booked into jail on a charge of felony theft, the Dallas Morning News reports.

Prosecutors say Carter, who worked at the city's Fire Station 7, received $12,548.86 while he was on COVID-19 leave in March and April this year. According to an arrest affidavit, when his lies were exposed, his supervisor asked him what made him do it—and he replied, "Greed, I guess." Bank statements obtained by investigators showed that Carter spent around $1,400 at the Kalahari water park resort in Round Rock, Texas in mid-April and also visited Waco and Temple during his time off. Officials say Carter is now on administrative leave while an internal investigation is underway. (More coronavirus stories.)

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