Fifteen thousand dollars can do a lot of good at Animal Ark, a no-kill animal shelter based in St. Paul.
That's the amount that William C. Strobel, 26, is accused of stealing from the organization's thrift store during the three months he worked as its bookkeeper.
Strobel of Minneapolis was charged Friday in Ramsey County District Court with theft by swindle, a felony. According to state records, he previously has been convicted of credit-card fraud, receiving stolen property, felony theft, giving false information to police and domestic assault.
Mike Fry, executive director of Animal Ark, said the organization unfortunately didn't do its usual background check before hiring Strobel as temporary bookkeeper at the Animal Ark Thrift Store in St. Paul.
Strobel was a volunteer in the thrift store when its usual bookkeeper unexpectedly became seriously ill. Strobel was charming, knew his way around the computer system, said he had bookkeeping experience and got the job, Fry said.
An internal audit showed that Strobel allegedly stole $15,000 between Jan. 1 and March 31 by taking cash from the store and covering up the theft by replacing the receipts with cash donations received by the store, the criminal complaint said.
Strobel admitted stealing money "to cover the expenses of his medical prescriptions," but he said that at most it was $4,000, the complaint said.
Animal Ark has an annual budget of $1.3 million but even so, $15,000 is "a significant sum," Fry said. For $35, a feral cat can be spayed or neutered, he said. For $400, an animal can go all the way from rescue to adoption at the Animal Ark.
