A former Miami assistant fire chief serving a prison sentence for her role in a multi-million mortgage fraud scheme can keep her $167,000 annual pension.
On Friday, the Board of Trustees for the city’s Firefighters’ and Police Officers’ Retirement Trust ruled that Veldora Arthur did not attempt to use her job to defraud the public, so her actions did not meet state standards for forfeiture.
She was sentenced to 57 months and is serving out her term in a federal prison in Central Florida. She has appealed.
“She did act in a private capacity in filling out forms and submitting them in attempting to obtain funds from lenders,” said Alison S. Bieler, the Trust’s attorney who recommended that no formal process be initiated to confiscate Arthur’s pension.