LAS VEGAS (KTNV) – For many donors and animal welfare advocates, the name Kathy Jung goes hand in hand with suspicious spending and misuse of money.
Money for animals at the Nevada Animal Cruelty Prevention Society.
Now, almost two years after Nevada’s attorney general began investigating the allegations exposed for the first time, Jung faces three counts of theft.
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Kathy Jung served for years as president of the NSPCA, directed shelter operations and controlled the nonprofit’s money.
While Jung requested well-intentioned donations to rebel animals, she allegedly diverted some of that money to her own expenses.
She resigned along with the rest of the council in 2019, amid an investigation by the attorney general.
“I stopped what I was doing and ran out of breath!” former NSPCA volunteer Chelsea Collins said of her reaction when we told her that Jung was in prison.
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“We were waiting for the day to hear this news,” said Collins. “We were all just waiting for this.”
Collins and other ex-insiders helped reveal what was going on behind the scenes at the shelter on Dewey Drive, near Decatur Boulevard and Russell Road.
13 Investigates released the story in November 2018.
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“The main concern started with the treatment of animals there,” said Collins. “We were all horrified by the conditions of the shelter and the treatment of animals – the abandonment that was taking place.”
Our investigation exposed dilapidated conditions and broken promises in the shelter of a leaky roof, to an infestation of cockroaches and spiders, to sewage hoses passing through kennels and severely attacked volunteers.
“There were some doubts and suspicions about whether all this money was being donated, why was the shelter not being better maintained? Why weren’t the animals being treated better? ” Collins remembers.
Under Jung’s leadership, the NSPCA raised money to raise funds and donations for a new shelter that had been promised years ago, but never built.
The criminal investigation examined non-animal spending on Jung’s NSPCA debit card, as well as withdrawals from ATMs and cash irregularities for minor expenses.
Many checks written to the NSPCA account were signed and endorsed by Jung without receipts or backup documentation.
“Ultimately, we expect her to serve a prison term,” said Collins. “As you pointed out – you have discovered the fact that she did this before, so she has a story.”
As we explained in our initial investigation, Jung is already a criminal convicted of a previous crime theft case in 2004 involving embezzlement from a car dealership where she worked as a controller.
“She was allowed to do this again under the guise of serving for a charitable organization this time around, so yes, we would all like to see her serve a prison sentence for that,” said Collins.
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“She did a terrible injustice to those animals there,” she added. “We are very happy that they are in such better care now with the new board and the new management, but justice still needs to be done when Kathy Jung is involved.”
Lori Heeren, who took over as executive director of the Nevada SPCA after Jung left, sent the following statement:
“This is part of our past; Ms. Jung has not been part of the Nevada SPCA in 2 years. In these two years, we have worked hard with a new team and a new board to create a standard of best practices in all departments here, including our financial and animal care protocols. We are an organization today that the community and our donors can be proud of. “
13 Investigations reached Kathy Jung’s lawyer, Ira Levine, by email. When asked about the comment, Levine said he had not spoken to Jung in a while and this was the first time he had heard of his arrest and charges.