LYNNWOOD — The former executive director of the Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project in Lynnwood is accused of stealing more than $61,000 from the clinic within a two-month period.
Following a Lynnwood police officer’s investigation, Jason Thompson, 39, was charged July 14 in Snohomish County Superior Court with first-degree theft.
According to charging papers, he said he had a gambling problem. As executive director, the only time he was supposed to handle money was in relation to a petty-cash fund at the office.
In a 2016 interview with The Daily Herald, Thompson spoke of his love for cats and the mission of the clinic. He also remarked that his pet peeve was “drama in general.”
“There are not enough hours in the day to get everything done that needs to get done and getting involved in personal or work drama just gets in the way of getting more important things in life done,” he told a Herald reporter at the time.
According to its website, the nonprofit was founded in 1997 and has altered more than 125,000 cats.
The clinic’s bookkeeper initially confronted Thompson in June 2018 about discrepancies in the nonprofit’s bank account, showing several thousand dollars had gone missing. Thompson reportedly claimed the bank mistakenly took money out of the clinic’s business account instead of a separate personal account he supposedly set up. On at least two occasions, he replaced the money. Eventually, Thompson reportedly told the bookkeeper he closed the personal account to remedy the problem, but the withdrawals continued.
The bookkeeper also reported that Thompson submitted fake invoices for thousands of dollars from companies the organization had worked with in the past. The Lynnwood officer compared the falsified invoices with authentic ones and noted “some obvious differences.” They all involved a fundraising event.
In a July 16, 2018, meeting, Thompson reportedly admitted to the clinic’s bookkeeper and secretary that he took $24,000 to fuel his gambling.
After his confession, he allegedly continued taking money totaling nearly $19,000. By the end of the month, the clinic fired Thompson and removed his access to the bank account. He eventually paid back $10,000.
Since then, a new executive director has taken his place.
“Thompson clearly by actions, admissions, and by bank records had taken money that he did not have the authority or scope to use,” the officer wrote. “He was not given the money, he was not tasked to spend the money, nor was he paid the money for services provided.”
Thompson is scheduled to be arraigned on July 27. Prosecutors noted he had no other criminal history.
Zachariah Bryan: 425-339-3431; zbryan@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @zachariahtb.
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