Former police lieutenant indicted on suspicion of embezzling federal grant funds

A former Wichita police lieutenant was indicted Tuesday on charges of embezzling federal grant funds, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom.

Kevin P. Vaughn, 51, was paid $56,400 for his company, Red Mist Tactical, to provide training to different law enforcement agencies in the area, according to the release.

According to the indictment, Vaughn allegedly falsified reports to make it appear that he had provided the training, when in fact, he had not delivered when he was supposed to and in some cases not at all.

He had reported that Red Mist Tactical had completed all of the 15 eight-hour classes the company agreed to provide.

The indictment alleges the following:

▪ Vaughn reported conducting training, in McPherson, on May 27 and 28, 2015. The training sessions took place on June 3 and 4, 2015, after the deadline for the training to be completed. The sessions were four hours long, not the eight hours Vaughn’s company had agreed to provide. Vaughn submitted falsified sign-up sheets with forged officers’ signatures.

▪ Vaughn reported conducting eight hours of training on May 22, 2015, during the Wichita Police Department Ladies Range Day. The training lasted four hours, and it was not approved by the Police Department.

▪ Vaughn reported offering training in Sumner County on April 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 27 and May 1, 2015. There was no training on those days. Vaughn submitted fabricated sign-up sheets for those dates.

The money for the training came from a grant by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency to the Kansas Highway Patrol and the North Central Regional Planning Commission.

Vaughn, who retired from the Wichita Police Department in March 2015 after 28 years, is charged with one count of embezzling federal funds, one count of mail fraud, three counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.

This story was originally published February 2, 2016 at 3:54 PM with the headline "Former police lieutenant indicted on suspicion of embezzling federal grant funds."