CPR Instructor Accused of Defrauding Boy Scout Troop

All Boy Scouts must learn to be trustworthy and keep their promises. So members of a Placentia Boy Scout troop were shocked Friday to find the instructor they hired to teach them CPR and first aid allegedly took their money and ran.

Kevin Stafford, a CPR instructor with Life Line Training Center in Anaheim, is suspected of defrauding Placentia Boy Scout Troop No. 723 out of $250, said Corinne Loomis, a civilian investigator with the Placentia Police Department.

Stafford also is under investigation by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department for allegedly taking $2,000 from the Arroyo School Parents-Teachers Assn., Lt. Hector Rivera said. He allegedly had promised to teach association members first-aid techniques in exchange for the money, Rivera said.

Stafford did not return repeated phone calls seeking comment. Training center officials also declined to comment.

“Apparently, it’s a case of misrepresentation,” Rivera said of the PTA case. “He was supposed to provide services, which he did not.”

Stafford offered his services at a monthly meeting of Boy Scout leaders in May, offering training for $25 per person, troop officials said. Boy Scout troop members said they paid Stafford in July to teach six Scout leaders and four Scout members how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation. But Scouting officials say Stafford never showed up.

Scout Master Murray Rothman said he initially thought he was getting a good deal. Now, he says he didn’t get what he bargained for.

“It’s not a matter of money; it’s a matter of principle,” Rothman said.

The troop tried to give Stafford a second chance by rescheduling two training sessions for September, officials said. Stafford was a no-show, Rothman said.

Rothman said he asked for his money back but never received it. On Thursday, troop treasurer Mary Baucher filed a police report.

“This man is not going by the Boy Scout code,” Baucher said.