The technology company PayPal has reversed more than $900,000 in fraudulent charges from a former Fresno Arts council employee, but some of the city’s top administrators said they are still trying to get the money back from the nonprofit.
The operations manager who stole about $1.8 million while working for the council, Suliana Caldwell, appeared in federal court Tuesday for a restitution hearing. Judge Jennifer L. Thurston ordered her to repay about $1.1 million.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Caldwell used PayPal, the mobile payment app, to send herself payments from the council’s coffers. PayPal said it reversed $901,844 in charges before washing its hands of the case, according to federal prosecutors.
It was unclear if any of that money will be paid back to the city. Cadlwell’s attorney, Kevin Rooney, said he could not immediately say how much of the reversed charge could count against her restitution.
City officials and prosecutors said the company has not cooperated with the effort to return the money to the city, and no representatives of the company appeared in court. Prosecutors confirmed the company has not cooperated.
Arts Council representatives did not appear in court either.
“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 said 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.”
She declined to discuss all of her legal options as City Attorney Andrew Janz, who was standing nearby, advised against answering such questions.
White said the nonprofit operates on its own and the city cannot compel its members to return the money to the city’s coffers. The council has so far not returned any money, she said.
The council directed questions about the money to its attorney, Jackson Waste, a Mather-based lawyer who said he could not discuss the case in depth.
“I have been in communication with the city’s counsel and look forward to resolving these issues to both sides’ satisfaction,” he said in an email. “Beyond that, I cannot comment.”
Caldwell spoke briefly in the courtroom, saying her statement from an August hearing still stands.
“I will do whatever I can in my power to return what’s due back to the city of Fresno,” the 46-year-old said on Tuesday.
Money embezzled from the Fresno Arts Council
Court documents show Caldwell got the idea for the embezzlement scheme after she was unable to find the executive director to sign a check to pay a vendor. Caldwell realized that by transferring Arts Council funds to her personal PayPal account, she could use that as a workaround to pay the vendor. She then began sending the money to herself through the payment app.
Her attorney has previously said Caldwell was battling alcohol addiction, a gambling addiction and depression.
Caldwell is scheduled to turn herself in for a 33-month sentence on Oct. 21. Rooney said it has not been determined where she will serve that time.
Suliana Caldwell leaves the Robert E. Coyle Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, after being ordered to repay $1.1 million to the Fresno Arts Council. She is set to report for a 33-month sentence for embezzlement on Oct. 21. THADDEUS MILLER tmiller@fresnobee.com 
Suliana Caldwell leaves the Robert E. Coyle Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, after being ordered to repay $1.1 million to the Fresno Arts Council. She is set to report for a 33-month sentence for embezzlement on Oct. 21. THADDEUS MILLER tmiller@fresnobee.com
This story was originally published September 8, 2026 at 12:21 PM.
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Reporter Thaddeus Miller has covered cities in the central San Joaquin Valley since 2010, writing about everything from breaking news to government and police accountability. A native of Fresno, he joined The Fresno Bee in 2019 after time in Merced and Los Banos.