Former deputy faces fraud charges

A former Spokane County sheriff’s deputy, who was fired in 2000 for having sex on the job with another deputy, has been charged with defrauding more than a dozen insurance clients.

Charles Richard “Chuck” Raschko, 39, is scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 5 on 16 felony charges, including second-degree theft, first-degree theft, money laundering and forgery, according to court records.

Raschko told investigators he had fallen on hard times and started taking insurance-renewal checks from clients and routing them to his personal bank account at the Spokane Law Enforcement Credit Union, records show.

Raschko worked 10 years as a deputy and once served as a DARE officer for Central Valley Schools. But then-Sheriff Mark Sterk fired Raschko in February 2000 after an internal investigation revealed he had sex with a female deputy while he was on duty. The female deputy, who was not on duty at the time, was suspended for 60 days without pay.

In 2001, Raschko started working for Farmers Insurance Group.

After a client raised concerns last year, Farmers Insurance Group officials audited Raschko’s business dealings and discovered irregularities. Company officials then alerted law enforcement, according to court records.

In September 2005, sheriff’s detectives raided Raschko’s office at 12213 E. Broadway Ave. He had shut down the office that summer, authorities said at the time, and he no longer sells policies for any insurance carrier.

Within days after the search, Raschko contacted Detective Kirk Keyser at the Spokane Valley Police Department.

“Raschko stated he was unable to keep up with his bills and debts,” Keyser wrote in court records. “Raschko made a guess at the amount of money he had stolen or embezzled from Farmers Insurance at approximately $7,000.”

However, when Keyser confronted Raschko with receipts indicating he had stolen about twice that amount, “Raschko stated that this amount … was probably close,” Keyser wrote.

The former deputy told the detective that he threw away the books he used to issue false receipts to customers.

“Raschko explained … he usually took money from customers who were renewing their insurance, as Farmers did not know that these customers were renewing their insurance,” Keyser wrote. “Raschko stated he thought he had been doing these types of activities for about six months.”

Keyser then presented Raschko with a list of former customers and the checks they had written to him.

“Raschko made the statement that it was hard for him to remember all of the victims’ names that he had taken money from, as he was under a lot of stress,” Keyser wrote. Raschko changed customers’ mailing addresses so they would not know their policies had been canceled, Keyser wrote.

Prosecutors charged Raschko with 11 counts of second-degree theft, three counts of first-degree theft and one count each of money laundering and forgery.

Raschko said “he was aware that conduct of this type was unacceptable,” Keyser wrote. “When Raschko was confronted about throwing away receipt books and other items … Raschko made the statement that he had done this out of fear.”

Raschko’s telephone number has been disconnected, and he could not be reached for comment.