A federal judge ordered the former Fresno Arts Council who embezzled nearly $2 million in taxpayer money to pay back the City of Fresno.
Judge Jennifer Thurston ordered Caldwell to pay roughly $1.18 million in restitution to the city on Tuesday.
The backstory: Caldwell was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison in August for stealing over $1.8 million.
She worked for the Fresno Arts Council as its operations manager from 2021 to February of this year, managing bank accounts, grants, donations and general finances.
While she started to embezzle money in 2022, Caldwell ramped up her scheme in 2023 after the Fresno Arts Council was selected by the Fresno City Council to administer Measure P grant money.
Caldwell wired herself the money through PayPal and used it to gamble, pay for vacations and other personal expenses.
The big picture: Thurston stated in court that PayPal has reversed $901,844 in fraudulent charges to the Fresno Arts Council.
However, city officials revealed that Fresno has not received any of the money back from the Arts Council.
Zoom in: Court documents state that the FBI determined $1.18 million of the $1.8 million that was stolen from the Arts Council actually came from Measure P funding.
Prosecutors said PayPal has not cooperated with the government after reversing the payments.
What they’re saying: “I’m happy that the U.S. Attorney was able to put on the record the amount that they believe the city is owed and due,” Fresno City Manager Georgeanne White told reporters after the hearing. “We look forward to going down the road that we need to get our money back, and we intend to pursue what our options are to get our money back from the Fresno Arts Council.”