Jarvis Brown, Jeffrey Archer Accused of Misusing $60K+
Two former officers with the Wyandanch Fire Company Benevolent Association are accused of making unauthorized withdrawals and payments totaling more than $60,000 from the group’s accounts.
Wyandanch Volunteer Fire Company.
A civil lawsuit filed by association’s current trustees in Suffolk County Supreme Court in May alleges that former President Jarvis Brown and former Vice President Jeffrey Archer wrote dozens of checks and made personal purchases using funds from two internal accounts.
Those accounts — the so-called “2% Account” and the “Real Estate Account” — were accessed without required board approval, the lawsuit alleges.
Trustees claim the former officials also prevented oversight by restricting access to financial records during their tenure, which spanned from January 2020 to January 2023.
The 2% Account is funded through a special tax on fire insurance policies sold by out-of-state insurers, mandated under New York Insurance Law. By statute, the funds are intended solely for the benefit of volunteer firefighters and their families in times of hardship, disability, or need.
But according to the petition, Archer and Brown spent tens of thousands of dollars from this account without following the procedures laid out in the association’s by-laws—procedures that require investigations by trustees and formal approvals before any money is disbursed.
The complaint includes a detailed breakdown of expenditures the trustees allege were improper, including payments for personal utilities, car loans, medical bills, and mortgage companies.
One check, dated in June 2020, was written to Select Portfolio Servicing, a mortgage company, for over $10,000. Another in July 2020 was for over $15,000 to the same company, according to the complaint.
Additional payments were allegedly made to various companies, including PSEG Long Island, Verizon, State Farm, and multiple medical providers—all allegedly without trustee knowledge or consent. In total, the petition lists 25 checks amounting over $43,000.
The trustees also allege that Brown and Archer used the Benevolent Association’s debit card to make more than $8,500 in unauthorized cash withdrawals and purchases, even though they were the only ones with access to the card.
In another instance, they claim $9,000 in hardship funds was given to the widow of a deceased firefighter while she was believed to be without insurance coverage. But when the insurance money later came through, the widow returned the $9,000 to one of the trustees’ fathers—who then handed the cash to Brown to be put back in the account. That money was never deposited and was likely pocketed, according to the complaint.
When trustees confronted the situation in early 2023, they were met with resistance from the association’s accountant at the time, who declined to discuss the records. The trustees later hired a new accountant and were advised to pursue legal action.
Though they also met with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, the complaint states the DA declined to press criminal charges, calling it a civil matter.
The petition asks the court to compel Brown and Archer to provide a full accounting of their actions and expenditures, and to order the return of the funds. It also seeks reimbursement for legal fees.
The case remains pending in Suffolk County Supreme Court.
