High Timber Times Update: Closed IMHS Criminal Investigation

I'm sorry Wily, but the record keeping wasn't that sloppy, it's obvious that money has been stolen. I've been in reviewing the police report myself, 4 hours total so far, and listening to the recorded interviews (there are interviews of Dianna Whitlock, Cindy Manning, Steve and Wendy Kelsey, Deb Hayes, and Jenna Branch's ex-boyfriend). My post below contains information that comes straight from the police report which is now officially public knowledge so I will be using the actual names listed in the report. If you wish a copy of the report yourself, please call Rose Avey at the Park County Sheriff's office, her direct line is 719-836-4108. They refuse to allow anyone to copy only portions of the report - it's all or nothing. The report is 3 binders, 881 pages total @ $0.25/page for a total of $220.25 + $50.00 labor for the 2 hours it takes them to copy it. Unfortunately, I do not have the money to get copies yet myself, so my information below will not include the few scans I'd planned on adding as documented evidence, so it's my notes only. You are free to look at the police report yourself at IMHS and decide whom to believe, but that High Timber Times article omitted some very significant details.

My summary is this:

5 employees at IMHS had credit cards: Cindy Manning, Wendy Kelsey-Neuman, Dianna Whitlock, Rebecca Young, and Jenna Branch
Of those 5 people, the only person who did not pay back what they owed for personal expenses was Jenna Branch. Reimbursements used to be taken directly from payroll checks, but was switched to taking personal checks from employees about the time that Wendy Kelsey-Neuman left in 2010. Each individual had a unique numbered credit card so personal purchases are unquestionably tracked to each person. The credit card statements are in the report and show store names where each person used their cards. Jenna has purchases at Kohls, Target, Victoria's Secret, ski season pass at Vail, groceries, i-Tunes, Kindle books, Best Buy electronics, concert tickets, windshield, tires, fuel, athletic & sporting equip that have not been reimbursed (this information from the Officer's Notes).

There are 117 pet adoptions for which the money cannot be located. The pets are recorded in the shelter software as being surrendered to IMHS, and there are records that they were adopted out (either at the shelter or at offsite Petco/Petsmart locations) and to whom, but the corresponding records of a deposit being made both in QuickBooks and in the bank records is missing. Scanned in below is a copy of the IMHS Adoption Income Review Procedure detailing how they reviewed the records and matched adoptions with payments recorded in the shelter software, QuickBooks, and bank statements. There is also a record of staff receiving payment for two cats that Jenna adopted from IMHS, but these are two of the adoption fees that went missing after payment was received.

There is documented cash missing from Thrift Store purchases, as records show money was brought in, supposedly placed in the safe located in the shelter, but no corresponding records of deposits in the bank account. There are also missing gift cards.

There is documented confirmation that the old board did indeed collect reimbursement for personal charges made on the IMHS credit cards, with a handwritten note by Cindy Manning indicating that Jenna Branch owed $2,368.50 in March of 2011. When the current board members realized that there were missing funds and attempted to locate them, Cindy claims that Jenna wrote a check for $3,000 - $5,000 on April 6, 2011 (she couldn't remember an exact amount, Jenna owed over $5,000 by this point), but that check was never deposited - it's neither in QuickBooks nor in the bank records. The check is missing and no one knows where it is.

An affadavit for search warrant was granted for Jenna Branch and unable to be executed as Jenna Branch, according to her relatives, moved and is unable to be located at this time. An arrest warrant was submitted for Jenna Branch after interviewing several people and reviewing the records, and denied on the basis that it was the shelter's responsibility to collect outstanding money owed for personal charges on the IMHS credit card, as the shelter gave permission, ether implicitly or explicitly, for employees to use the credit cards. Since the arrest warrant for the credit card charges was denied, and the missing cash from the pet adoptions cannot be definitively tied to Jenna Branch, the investigation can go no further at this time. The investigating officer stated this in the official report: "...strongly disagrees with the decision made by the DA's office based on CO revised statute 18-4-401 (1)(a): A person commits theft when he knowingly obtains or exercises control over anything of value of another without authorization, OR by threat OR by deception intends to deprive the other person permanently of the use or benefit of the thing of value A class 4 felony if the value of the thing involved is greater than $1K but less than $20K."

My question is: how is it not theft if it's understood that employees were to pay back the personal charges, at least one board member wrote a record of an amount that was due to the shelter that was unpaid, and the current board has documented that the funds were not paid back?

My next question: why did the old board never file a police report about funds, totaling $1,000 that they knew of, that they knew to be missing?


IMHS Review of Records 2/18/12

Case opened 12/15/11
July 2011 Dianna Whitlock told Wendy there was missing adoption money discovered in Jan 2011, no police report filed. No documentation of internal investigation

Cash missing from safe after Deb Hayes returned from vacation, in exactly the amount of deposits made by Thrift Store

July 2011: request by Wendy Kelsey-Neuman & Steve Kelsey at board meeting to review all records back to Jan 2010, Carl Sharp hostile, wanted buddy who was an attorney to consult on legal issues. Current board had concerns about using someone to advise them who associated with someone on previous board.


Officer notes:
Unannounced visit to Cindy Manning's home for interview: Cindy gave her the impression that she was "entitled" as President "to be lax in practice and responsibility" b/c she volunteered "daily" and gave donations in the "thousands". She blamed the current board for the theft, specifically Deb Hayes.

Jan 11, 2012 search warrant affidavit submitted for Jenna Branch's residence, SIL answered, she'd moved. 
Jan 12, 2012 affidavit for arrest warrant submitted to DA Steve Sullivan, he refused to sign off on it. According to district attorneys, since IMHS BOD have given permission to use CC for personal purchases, then it was their responsibility to collect and did not constitute theft. W/o being able to use CC purchases as evidence of theft, and unable to locate Jenna for an interview, the missing adoption fees is insufficient to tie to her. Jan 13, 2012

Jan 31, 2012 Officer Shawn Olivet "strongly disagrees with the decision made by the DA's office based on CO revised statute 18-4-401 (1)(a): A person commits theft when he knowingly obtains or exercises control over anything of value of another without authorization, OR by threat OR by deception intends to deprive the other person permanently of the use or benefit of the thing of value A class 4 felony if the value of the thing involved is greater than $1K but less than $20K."

Petsmart surprised at news of missing money - had never been contacted. It's in both Dianna's and Rebecca's interviews that Petsmart was contacted about the missing money. Manager at Petsmart says that never happened. Does he not remember, or did they not contact him as they said they did?

Credit Cards: Cindy, Wendy, Dianna, Rebecca, and Jenna all had one

Jenna the only one who didn't pay back debt, went to Kohls, Target, VS, ski season pass at Vail, groceries, i-Tunes, Kindle books, Best Buy electronics, concert tickets, windshield, tires, fuel, athletic & sporting equip. Each Amex card had a different # so charges could be definitively assigned to each person.

Cindy claims Jenna wrote a check for about $3K-$5K supposedly on 4-6-2011, but no check ever deposited, can't be located in the shelter. She hand wrote a note on the March Amex bill that Jenna owes $2,368.50

Jenna had personal checks that bounced, a credit card that was denied twice for tickets for an IMHS fundraising event, and didn't pay for animals that she personally adopted.

Witnesses have been uncooperative with the investigation due to fears of a civil case, hence witnesses have been collaborating, advising each other of the details of the investigation and protecting each other and it is believed by your affiant Jenna Branch was advised of the criminal investigation, therefore left town and will continue to be evasive unless an arrest warrant compels her to come forward.
End of Officer's Notes


Missing funds timeline from Wendy Kelsey-Neuman's Statement
5/19/11 new board elected
5/21/11 no word from Remaining BOD, requested door lock code from Dianna. She responded that she didn't want to give the code and instead wanted to meet on Tuesday after the shelter closed.
5/24/11 met at shelter, got keys and door code. Began looking at quickbooks to determine what was up to day and needed to be done.
Email over the weekend from Sharon Winterrowd indicated she went in on 5/22/11 and processed payroll
Found Amex payment had been made and found unopened statement w/Cindy's handwriting on it. Opened it and discovered several personal charges by Jenna, researched her paychecks found no withholdings, couldn't locate check that was supposedly written on April. (emailed Sharon on 5/25)
Jenna quit day after board meeting, May 26 last day.
Cindy quit 5/21/11, within days Julie Denby and Deb McCarthy also. Deb refused to provide meeting minutes of may meeting
7/22/11 Dianna informed Wendy and Deb that a lot of adoption fees went missing in Jan 2011. She claimed she and Cindy had done an internal investigation finding that adopters had paid mostly in cash, but that she didn't know where the documentation for this investigation had gone. This documentation has not yet been located. Missing money never reported to authorities.

Threads from community forums copied as screen shots:
All those people who were ticked re euthanasia pine cam jun21, 2011
Another ringworm problem at IMHS? Nov 28, 2011 (this thread is now unable to be located on Pinecam - deleted???)
IMHS pine cam feb 2, 2012




Dianna Whitlock - recorded interview, says she was only aware of money missing from Crestline & County Line Petsmart store adoptions. Discovered Late Feb/early March
She told Cindy.
She thinks she brought it up at the next board meeting, but can't remember.
They instituted the Log Book Procedure for offsite adoptions 3/26/11
Dianna knew, based on what Cindy told her, that Jenna had been using the IMHS card for personal use and that she did have to pay it back. Was also told she did pay with a check. [Secondhand info]

IMHS Adoption Income Review Procedure

homeagain wrote: SC.....HIGHLY advise you post this on PC,as Wiley has updated THEIR thread and THIS information should be available there
also. I do NOT feel I can re-post this because of my signature agreement.

Done, thank you for the suggestion. Unless you signed a different agreement, the confidentiality agreement concerns not naming anyone or giving out personal information for anyone who adopted animals from IMHS.

Wily, the old board absolutely is responsible for this as well. I haven't read all of the CO statues, but it appears that the old board can be held personally liable for missing funds due to not executing their duties faithfully. The lax procedures and flippant attitude by some of the previous board members, and neglect of carrying out their fiduciary duties, makes them liable.

Can you imagine how much more would be stolen by now if they'd not been booted out/resigned?