Former Police Chief Accused of Wire Fraud and Identity Theft Appears in Court

COVINGTON—A former northern Kentucky police chief, arrested Friday on wire fraud and identity theft charges, will appear in court today for a detention hearing.

A federal indictment, unsealed late Friday afternoon, charges Carl Mullen, 49, the former chief of the Highland Heights Southgate Police Authority, with scheming to defraud his own department out of more than a hundred thousand dollars. The detention hearing will determine whether or not he will remain in custody between now and his trial scheduled for August 22.

A federal grand jury in Covington returned the sealed indictment Thursday, which charges Mullen with one count of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft. Mullen pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Friday.

From January 2010 through November 14, 2011, Mullen allegedly used credit cards in the name of the Highland Heights Southgate Police Authority and in the names of other members of his police department to steal over $115,000.

The indictment alleges Mullen obtained the money in cash advances using these cards and kept the funds for himself.

According to the indictment, Mullen falsely claimed these funds were for legitimate police investigations and directed the financial officer to pay the credit card balances each month in order to continue the fraud.

Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Perrye Turner, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, jointly made the announcement.

The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the FBI. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Bracke.

Mullen faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. However, upon a conviction, the court must consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the applicable federal statutes before imposing a sentence.

The indictment of a person by a grand jury is an accusation only, and that person is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.