$1.5 million in Measure P funds embezzled from Fresno Arts Council, city says

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — A Fresno Arts Council employee is accused of embezzling approximately $1.5 million in Measure P funds, according to a joint statement from Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer, Council President Mike Karbassi and Council Vice President Nelson Esparza.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The video above is from a previous broadcast and will be updated.

City officials said they were notified on the evening of Feb. 5, 2026, by a board member of the Fresno Arts Council that a longtime employee of the organization had embezzled the funds. Dyer says the employee was no longer working for the Arts Council when the city found out about the embezzlement.

The Fresno Police Department initiated a criminal investigation the following day, the statement said.

The embezzlement involves a cycle of funding totaling $5,710,556 that was provided to the Arts Council on Oct. 1, 2024. Those funds were to be distributed to members of the local arts community, but a percentage remains unpaid because of a shortage of funds caused by the embezzlement.

The City of Fresno denied the Arts Council’s October 2025 funding request, citing the Arts Council’s failure to provide sufficient documentation to justify prior expenditures, as required.

The City of Fresno said it will now administer the next cycle of funding and has canceled its contract with the Arts Council to administer any future Measure P funding. The city will also conduct a forensic financial investigation of the Arts Council.

“It is the City’s intent to utilize future Measure P funding to make those organizations whole who were owed money by the Arts Council,” the statement said, adding that how that process will occur has not yet been determined.

“The Mayor and members of the City Council are appalled by the lack of safeguards put in place by the Fresno Arts Council, which ultimately allowed this embezzlement to occur,” the statement said. “The loss of $1.5 million of taxpayer dollars is unacceptable. The City of Fresno will pursue every available avenue to recover these hard-earned taxpayer funds up to and to include litigation.”

Measure P, formally known as the Fresno Clean and Safe Neighborhood Parks Transactions and Use Tax, was approved by 52% of voters in November 2018. The 3/8cent sales tax began collecting revenue on July 1, 2021, following legal challenges, and was expected to generate $34 million annually, an average of $39 per household each year.

While the majority of Measure P funding is designated for building and maintaining parks and recreation facilities, 12% of the funds are earmarked for expanding access to arts and culture.

Organizations that have not yet been fully compensated are encouraged to call 559-621-2999 or email ExpandedArts@fresno.gov, along with their agreement with the Fresno Arts Council and any other relevant information, city officials said.

$1.5 million in Measure P funds embezzled from Fresno Arts Council, city says

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