FBI, Fresno Police investigate alleged $1.5 million embezzlement of taxpayer funds

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — $1.5 million in Fresno taxpayer funds were lost in an embezzlement case, according to city officials.

The city says the FBI and Fresno Police Department are investigating a long-time and now former employee of the Fresno Arts Council tasked with handling public grants under Measure P.

The measure approved by voters in 2018 is intended to ensure funding for park maintenance and creation, as well as recreation, community, and arts programs.

Last week, Fresno City Manager Georgeanne White notified the Fresno Arts Council that it will terminate its contract with the nonprofit, effective Feb. 20, Fresno City Councilmember for District 1 Annalisa Perea said.

“The actions of this Fresno Arts Council employee is extremely reprehensible,” said Perea. “When we found out about it, our hearts were broken. We can do better than this and we will.”

Local art organizations say they’re not surprised.

“A community of artists and arts-based organizations and cultural organizations have been aware of the lack of transparency for quite some time when it comes to the Fresno Arts Council,” said Omé Lopez of Dulce Upfront.

Lopez is part of a group that has been raising alarms about transparency surrounding Measure P in recent months.

Now that the city is taking action and an investigation is underway, Lopez says there’s hope.

“I have hope for our community of artists and cultural bearers to be able to find commonality in this desire for seeing Fresno as a vibrant city,” said Lopez.

Still, some local artists say they have not received funds they were expecting based on agreements with the city, and have had to delay projects for several months, in some cases.

Meanwhile, city officials say the incident is regrettable. Councilmember for District 3, Miguel Arias, says, unfortunately, it’s not something that’s uncommon.

“The City of Fresno lost $613,737 in a phishing scam in 2020, and in 2024 the Fresno Unified School District lost $2.3 million to a similar scheme,” Arias said in part in a statement to Action News.

However, the city says it is working to address the impacts by terminating its contract with the Fresno Art Council and reviewing its other contracts to ensure proper use of funds.

Still, Perea said it’s unclear if or when the lost funds will be recovered.

Action News reached out to both the Fresno Police Department and the Fresno Arts Council for comment but has not received a response as of the publication of this article.

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