Solano County Friends of Animals staffer, a former Benicia resident, accused of embezzlement

By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter

A former Benicia woman who resigned as treasurer of the nonprofit Solano County Friends of Animals more than two years ago amid accusations of embezzlement was arrested in Fairfield on Sunday and charged with two counts of grand theft, according to Benicia police Lt. Mike Daley and Solano County Jail records.

Jacqueline Bailey, 42, was booked into the jail at 11:17 a.m. Sunday with bail set at $50,000; jail records indicate she posted bail that day and was released.

Bailey was arrested by Solano County Sheriff’s Department deputies on a county warrant after they received a tip she would be attending an event in Fairfield, Daley said late Tuesday.

No address was given for Bailey, but both Daley and Jill Coe, Friends of Animals president, said the woman moved from Benicia some time ago.

SCFOA concentrates on providing low-cost spay and neutering and adoption events in Benicia, Vallejo and American Canyon.

Bailey became the subject of a Benicia police investigation in 2009 after members of the nonprofit said they had found irregularities in the group’s finances.

Coe, who was not part of SCFOA when those irregularities were found, said what began troubling board members were “the vagueness of treasurer reports. The bottom line was different.”

Before calling police March 2, 2009, the members aired the matter at a board meeting, at which Bailey, a member of the board, resigned, Daley and Coe said Tuesday.

Detective Mark Hassler was first on the case, then it was handed to Gregg Rouse when Hassler was given a different assignment in the department, Daley said.

While sifting through the evidence took time, both detectives took the case personally and hoped for restitution, Daley said.

Investigating the case was challenging, he said. The detectives first had to obtain the organization’s financial records, then go through the documents to see how the shortages developed.

“In their defense, they’re a group of good people,” Daley said of members of the all-volunteer organization that operates a no-kill operation of homeless animal adoption and helps with spaying and neutering to prevent the births of more unwanted dogs and cats.

“They’re a nonprofit organization formed for the protection of animals, and the farthest thing from their minds is to protect themselves from each other,” Daley said.

Neither Daley nor Coe would specify how much had been taken from the organization, but said it was no less than $50,000 and could be more than $100,000.

Rouse concluded his portion of the investigation in January of this year and handed his findings to the Solano County District Attorney’s office, which issued the warrant in March, Daley said.

“The district attorney accepted the case and put a warrant out,” Coe said. “That was our biggest validation.”

Daley said determining facts in embezzlement investigations can be complicated. “They may go buy stuff for the business, and buy personal things at the same time, and get cash back. Was it used for the business or for personal things?

“The good news is they usually always get caught. The challenge is to get an accurate figure.”

The loss hurt SCFOA. “It caused the organization to live hand-to-mouth,” Coe said. “It was a major financial hit.”

Members sold a truck and launched a series of fundraisers, from bake sales to last year’s “No More Homeless Pets” auction, as well as music and delicacy-sampling at Shiroco’s, to keep providing low-cost spay and neuter services and to care for animals being readied for adoption, she said.

Coe said the organization has instituted stricter financial practices, incorporating more checks and balances such as requiring two signatures for cash handling and mandating more thorough treasury reports that must be delivered at both board and public meetings.

Explaining that larger organizations often hire professionals to provide financial services, Coe said SCFOA is a small group that handles those matters on its own. “It takes due diligence on the part of the board to pay attention to funds,” she said. “Maybe we were too trusting, taking people at their word.”

Ultimately, Coe said, the experience has made the organization stronger. “We’re relieved this has moved to the next phase,” which means volunteers can focus on the homeless and feral cats and dogs that need their attention. “At least she can’t do this to another organization.

“We hope to receive restitution, but that is a matter that’s up to the district attorney,” Coe said. “It wasn’t our money, it’s the animals’ money. We’re fighting to get restitution for the animals.”