Man gets 10 months in jail for stealing from nonprofit in Groveland
A 59-year-old man who worked as the manager of the Yosemite Highway 120 Chamber of Commerce in Groveland seven years ago is now facing 10 months behind bars after being sentenced this week to embezzling more than $13,000 from the organization, Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced Friday.
Kevin Roy Wilson, whose town of residence was not provided in a District Attorney’s Office news release, is next scheduled to appear in Tuolumne County Superior Court
on Dec. 2 for a restitution hearing, which will determine the amount of money he will be ordered to pay back to the nonprofit organization that promotes businesses in Groveland and along the Highway 120 corridor to the entrance of Yosemite National Park.
“We give great thanks to past and present (chamber board) members for their dedication to seeking justice for the citizens of Groveland and the greater Yosemite corridor,” the news release said.
Wilson is scheduled to be taken into custody at the restitution hearing to begin serving his sentence of 10 months in county jail, followed by two years of felony probation as ordered by Superior Court Judge Donald Segerstrom.
Assistant District Attorney Eric Hovatter prosecuted the case, but he could not be reached for comment on Friday.
The case against Wilson was reportedly filed in December 2015, at which point a warrant was issued for his arrest that remained outstanding until he was arraigned in court on charges of embezzlement, forgery and identity theft on June 10, 2019, the release said.
Wilson was hired in early 2014 to serve as the chamber’s manager, a position in which he was entrusted with access to credit cards and checks to make purchases and payments on behalf of the organization. He was reportedly an Air Force veteran from Manteca.
In May 2015, Wilson resigned after being confronted by chamber board members about the organization’s checking account being overdrawn by $1,700. He denied allegations of embezzlement at the time.
The Union Democrat reported in a story published on Aug. 8, 2015, that the board’s then president, Tomas Hernandez Jr., filed a report with the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office about the missing funds from the organization’s coffers.
Several directors also resigned after learning about the missing funds.
Marc Fossum, a director who had resigned over the situation, told The Union Democrat in an interview at the time that he felt it could have largely been avoided had multiple “red flags” been properly addressed over the year Wilson was serving, such as advertising bills not being paid and promotional materials going unordered.
None of the board members or investigators at the time would say the amount of funds that were missing due to the ongoing investigation, but the news release on Friday said the total Wilson embezzled was $13,215.55.
The release said the investigation revealed Wilson had used the chamber’s accounts to pay child support, as well as 42 unauthorized credit card transactions for cable and internet, propane service, food, Redbox movie rentals, online purchases, clothing, and hotel stays in Reno and at Black Oak Casino.
A preliminary hearing in Wilson’s case was held in December 2019, the release said, adding that proceedings were further delayed when his attorney in January declared a doubt about his “ability to meaningfully participate in his defense.”
In May, the court found Wilson competent to stand trial. He pleaded guilty to all the charges against him in August, the release said, noting that the District Attorney’s Office did not offer him a plea bargain.