LAS VEGAS (KTNV) – For many animal welfare donors and supporters, the name Kathy Jung goes hand in hand with suspicious spending and misuse of money.
Money for animals at the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Now, almost two years after the Nevada attorney general began investigating the allegations. 13 Investigates 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, conducted shelter operations and controlled the nonprofit’s money.
While Jung requested well-intentioned donations for capricious animals, she allegedly destroyed some of this money for her own expenses.
She resigned along with the rest of the board in 2019, amid an investigation by the prosecutor general.
“I stopped what I was doing and lost my breath!” former NSPCA volunteer Chelsea Collins said of her reaction when I told her Jung was under arrest.
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“I was just waiting for the day to hear this news,” Collins said. “We were all just waiting for him.”
Collins and other former insiders helped blow up what was happening behind the scenes at the shelter on Dewey Drive, near Decatur Boulevard and Russell Road.
13 Investigates broke the story in November 2018.
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“The main concern started with the treatment of the animals there,” Collins said. “We were all horrified by the conditions of the shelter and the treatment of the animals – the neglect that was happening.”
Our investigation revealed conditions of ruin and broken promises sheltered from a leaking roof, an infestation with beetles and spiders, sewer hoses passing through dog kennels and severely abused volunteers.
“There were some questions and suspicions about whether all this money was donated, why wasn’t the shelter better maintained? Why weren’t the animals treated better?” Collins remembers.
Under Jung’s leadership, the NSPCA took money from fundraisers and donations for a new shelter that had been promised for years but was never built.
The criminal investigation examined the non-animal related expenses on Jung’s NSPCA debit card, as well as ATM withdrawals and small cash irregularities.
Many checks written on the NSPCA account were signed and approved by Jung without receipts or back-up documentation.
“Ultimately, we hope he will serve his sentence,” Collins said. “As you pointed out – you’ve found out he’s done this before, so he has a history.”
As we pointed out in our initial investigation, Jung is already a convicted felon in a 2004 theft case involving embezzlement from a car dealer where he worked as a controller.
“This time she was allowed to do it again under the guise of serving for a charity, so yes, we would all like to serve her in prison for this,” Collins said.
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“He did a terrible injustice against those animals there,” she added. “We are so happy that I am now in such good care with the new board and the new leadership, but justice has yet to be served where Kathy Jung is involved.”
Lori Heeren, who took over as executive director of the Nevada SPCA after Jung’s departure, sent the following statement:
“This is part of our past; Ms. Jung has not been a member of the Nevada SPCA for 2 years. Over the past two years, we have worked extensively with new staff and a new board of directors to create a standard of good practice in each department here, including our animal care and financial protocols. Today we are an organization that our community and donors can be very proud of. “
13 investigations reached Kathy Jung’s lawyer, Ira Levine, by e-mail. When asked for comments, Levine said he had not spoken to Ms. Jung for some time, and this was the first time he had heard of her arrest and charges.