SIDNEY — A Fort Loramie man accused of forging the Port Jefferson mayor’s signature on a grant form was sentenced Tuesday in Sidney Municipal Court.

Patrick Goldschmidt, 54, who is a volunteer with the Port Jefferson Fire Company, was sentenced to two years of probation, fined $250 and ordered to perform 80 hours of community service by Visiting Judge Donald Luce. Goldschmidt had entered a guilty plea to an amended charge of attempted forgery on April 25. He had originally been charged with forgery.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation in September 2016 after Port Jefferson Mayor Stephen R. Butterfield had contacted the office about a possible fraud. After receiving a state fire equipment grant for $10,000, Butterfield suspected someone had forged his signature on the paperwork. The grant was awarded to the Port Jefferson Community Fire Company.

During the investigation, original grant documents were obtained from the Ohio Department of Commerce along with original signatures of Butterfield and handwriting samples from Goldschmidt. These documents were sent to BCI&I for handwriting analysis. The results of the submitted documents showed there were indications that Goldschmidt had written the name of Butterfield on the grant application.

Goldschmidt was interviewed and denied all allegations to investigators. Prior to taking a polygraph, Goldschmidt admitted to the examiner he had forged Butterfield’s signature to obtain the grant.

Under a plea agreement, Goldschmidt agreed to plead guilty to attempted forgery.

Goldschmidt is also a member of the the Lockington Fire Company.