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AURORA, Colo. — A former Aurora Police Department officer is suspected of stealing nearly $80,000 from funds dedicated to helping the families of fallen officers.

According to an affidavit of probable cause for arrest, Roland Thomas Albert, 38, is accused of theft between $20,000 and $100,000. The document states that Albert was being investigated by the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office for an unrelated case when concerns developed regarding the Aurora Police Orphan Fund. Albert had been the fund’s treasurer since December 2015.

The orphan fund was established to provide financial assistance to the families of fallen officers.

On Aug. 23, 2018, an APD sergeant was notified that Albert may be charged in the unrelated case. The next day, the sergeant contacted the orphan fund’s financial advisor and notified him of the situation. The advisor told the sergeant that the fund’s checking account had an unusual reduction of funds.

The affidavit does not disclose charges Albert might face in the unrelated case.

The orphan fund’s board had an emergency meeting and decided to remove Albert from both the board and the accounts.

According to the affidavit, all board members have access to the accounts. However, it appeared that some money transfers had been made from the orphan fund’s account into Albert’s personal account at Rocky Mountain Law Enforcement Federal Credit Union.

The sergeant found a number of suspicious transactions from the account, as every movement of funds must be approved by the board. Between Jan. 3, 2018 and Aug. 1, 2018, a total of $25,613 in suspicious transactions were reported.

Later, an APD detective provided a list of unauthorized, suspicious transactions that took place between Dec. 7, 2017 and July 31, 2018.

Additionally, it was discovered that Albert allegedly stole from the Brotherhood of the Fallen Aurora, an organization that helps law enforcement attend services for fallen officers nationwide. Albert had been treasurer of that organization since March 2016.

Overall, Albert is accused of stealing a total of $78,900.71 from the Aurora Police Orphan Fund account and the Brotherhood of the Fallen account.