TL;DR: What the STIRM Report Says About the Sean Fountain Training Certificate Scandal

For nearly two years, the STIRM investigative report sat out of public reach ... impounded by the courts and kept from residents who had long demanded answers. It briefly surfaced on Facebook earlier this year, only to be swiftly removed under a court order, fueling even more curiosity. ,

Last night that secrecy finally ended. Mayor D.J. Beauregard released the full report to the public, posting it on the City of Methuen’s website and pushing it directly to residents through the city’s text alert system, making the long-hidden findings available to everyone at last.

And the timing, it couldn't have been better as Fountain was in Salem Superior Court Friday ready to enter his guilty plea. However, the judge has asked the city solicitor for more documentation which will likely be used to determine sentencing.

So, what is the STIRM report?

In March 2023, the City of Methuen received a detailed internal investigative report from STIRM Group regarding whether former firefighter, former City Council President, and intermittent police officer Sean Fountain had submitted a forged police academy training certificate to obtain and maintain employment with the Methuen Police Department.

The report concludes, unequivocally, that the certificate was a forgery and that the fraud could not have occurred without help from multiple individuals inside the law-enforcement training system.

Below is a clear, plain-language summary of what Methuen residents should know.

What the Investigation Was About

According to page 1, the City hired STIRM Group to determine:

1. Whether a police training certificate attributed to Sean Fountain was authentic, and

2. If fraudulent, who created or facilitated the forgery.

STIRM’s conclusion: “Sean Fountain’s Northeast Regional Police Institute ( NERPI) certificate is a forgery.” (p.108)

Who Is Sean Fountain?

The report (p.10) describes Fountain as:

• A former Methuen firefighter

• Former City Council President

• An intermittent police officer beginning July 1, 2016

• A beneficiary of “a level of preferential treatment that was so blatant that it was different from the four intermittent officers hired with him.”

The forgery allowed him to maintain status as a police officer, which—per STIRM—exposed Methuen to potential liability exceeding $400,000 (p.10).

What the Certificate Fraud Involved

STIRM found:

• Fountain presented a certificate claiming he graduated from the May 13, 1995 NERPI police academy (p.10).

• This conflicted with official academy records.

• Investigators obtained the legitimate 1995 certificate format and compared them (p.18).

• Fountain’s document “has been proven to be a forgery” (p.108).

• Multiple versions of the forged document existed, suggesting coordinated effort by insiders (pp.12–13, 16).

Who Else Was Implicated

The report identifies several individuals with varying levels of alleged involvement. Key figures include:

• Former Methuen Police Chief Joseph Solomon.

  The report labels Solomon a co-conspirator (p.10). STIRM states that supporting the forgery “could not have occurred” without Solomon (p.11). It also references years of concerns about his leadership from the Civil Service Commission and Inspector General (p.11).

• Former Captain Greg Gallant

  The report alleges Gallant created or distributed at least one forged version of the certificate (p.12).

• Robert Ferullo, Former MPTC Executive Director

  The report claims he submitted falsified training records indicating Fountain completed a program he did not attend (p.12).

• Additional MPTC and law-enforcement staff

Several officials are identified as supplying records, missing records, or inconsistencies—some with non-cooperative behavior (pp.13–17).

Attempts to Get Prosecutors to Act

Pages 13–16 describe repeated unsuccessful attempts to get the Essex County District Attorney’s Office and the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office to take the case.

Investigators describe:

• Delays

• Lack of follow-through

• Confusion over responsibility between agencies

• Key individuals refusing interviews or declining to pursue criminal charges (pp.13–16)

One passage notes that the AG’s office “opted to remain on the sidelines” even after being told Fountain sought immunity in exchange for testimony (p.16).

How the Forgery Was Discovered

The very first red flag was raised inside the Methuen Police Department.

Duringan internal review of officer records, Methuen officials noticed that Fountain’s NERPI training certificate did not match the legitimate format normally issued by the 1995 academy class.

The report states that Fountain “created a forged training certificate” purporting to show he graduated from the May 13, 1995 NERPI Police Academy (p.10). But when Methuen command staff compared the certificate to known legitimate documents, the format immediately appeared inconsistent.

This prompted the department to seek verification.

Fountain’s personnel file contained:

• Conflicting versions of certificates

• Yellow-card records showing he wasn’t certified when he claimed to be

• Records staff at the state level confirmed discrepancies, including:

• Fountain’s yellow card being scanned at the MPTC on 24 November 2021 at 11:29 a.m. (p.17)

• MPTC staff stating they had no record of Fountain graduating the 1995 academy (pp.17–18)

  
  

Once discrepancies were confirmed, Chief Scott McNamara pushed the matter forward.

The report states that investigating and resolving the fraud became a top priority for him (p.9).

McNamara contacted outside agencies, demanded cooperation from the MPTC, and ultimately sought external investigative assistance.

Key Witnesses Who Confirmed the Fraud

Several retired police officials and NERPI instructors were interviewed, including:

• Steve Smith, whose signature was forged (pp.18, 19)

• Former instructors and coordinators who confirmed Fountain was not part of the 1995 class

• Additional officers disputing the authenticity of documents produced in his file (pp.19–20)

Conclusion of the Report

STIRM’s ultimate finding (pp.108–132):

The certificate was not real.

Multiple individuals across Methuen PD, MPTC, and other agencies enabled the fraud.

The lack of prosecutorial movement was notable and documented in detail.

Methuen’s police oversight systems were inadequate to detect or stop the misconduct.

They further recommend administrative and criminal actions (pp.180–187).

Why This Matters for Methuen

The report suggests:

• A breakdown of state and local oversight

• A culture of internal preferential treatment

• Risk to public safety and city finances

• Damaged public trust

• Potential long-term civil liability for the city

This was not merely a paperwork problem but a systemic failure across several institutions.

Bottom Line...

The STIRM Report concludes that Sean Fountain’s police training certificate was a proven forgery, supported by a network of individuals and enabled by breakdowns in accountability at the local and state level.

Despite the strength of the evidence, no criminal prosecution occurred during the time period covered by the report.

For Methuen residents, the document raises serious questions about oversight, leadership, and the culture within parts of the law-enforcement community during the years these events occurred.

A lot has changed inside the Methuen Police Department since the period covered by this report. New leadership, modernized oversight practices, and a far more transparent internal culture have taken root largely because these revelations forced the city to confront the cracks that allowed this mess to happen in the first place.

As for the individuals at the center of the scandal, the legal fallout is finally coming into focus. Sean Fountain is preparing to plead guilty, an acknowledgment that the forged certificate and the benefits he gained from it were not misunderstandings, but deliberate acts. We will hear from a judge soon what consequences he will face.

Former Chief Joseph Solomon, meanwhile, still awaits trial. And while every defendant is entitled to a presumption of innocence, logic suggests that Fountain’s guilty plea will make Solomon’s defense significantly more difficult. If Fountain admits the certificate was fraudulent and identifies those who helped him, it becomes harder for any co-defendant to distance themselves from the scheme.

For Methuen residents, this is another chapter in a long-running story, one that deserves close attention. The report may finally be public, but the consequences of what it documents are still unfolding.

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To view the original press release and the entire 202 page STIRM Report, click here.