FRASER, Mich. – A handful of Fraser patrol police officers are at the center of an investigation into whether they fudged education degrees in order to get pay raises.
Eight patrol officers and two sergeants collected between $3,000 and $5,000 a year education bonuses because they told their supervisors they had bachelors or master's degrees from Almeda University.
Almeda University sits on the Caribbean island of Nevis. Its accreditation page says it is bound by "different rules that require a less elaborate and convoluted documentation of experiences and knowledge."
Fraser city officials say the degrees are non-existent and want the bonus money back.
"Some credentials that are presented by statue are fraudulent and we can institute recovery, you can go after the officers to get the money," Fraser City Manager Richard Haberman said.
The Police Department isn't commenting, but has confirmed the problem.
Fraser's mayor works part time and was out of the office Tuesday when Local 4 inquired. He told Local 4's Rod Meloni by phone that his concerns are that because nearly a dozen officers are involved, and it's been going on for a long time, that it may have been an institutional problem with previous city management.
He is asking for a full, independent state police investigation.