PAS bookkeeper accused of theft

PONDERAY — A former bookkeeper is accused of embezzling from the Panhandle Animal Shelter.

Dana Marie Braaten is charged with grand theft. A preliminary hearing to determine if there is enough evidence against Braaten to justify trying her is set for today in Bonner County Magistrate Court.

Braaten, 58, of Sagle, is free on her own recognizance while the case is pending, court records show. Braaten’s defense counsel, Coeur d’Alene attorney Rick Baughman, has entered a written not guilty plea on his client’s behalf.

Braaten is accused of committing the thefts from 2010 to 2012, although the public record is so far bereft of information about how the thefts were perpetrated.

The gulf between the amount of money believed stolen and the amount Braaten admitted to taking is wide, according to a Ponderay Police report.

An auditing firm which examined the animal shelter’s books alleges Braaten took $21,630. Braaten, when confronted by shelter officials last fall, allegedly admitted taking $7,746, the police report states.

“I wish I could say something other than what I’m going to tell you. I have stolen from you,” Braaten was quoted as telling shelter officials.

On the advise of counsel, Braaten declined to be interviewed by Ponderay Police, the report indicates.

The thefts were discovered during an audit conducted by Bernhart & Buck, a Hayden Lake accounting firm, the police report said. The audit allegedly uncovered a “discrepancy” in the nonprofit’s financial statements.

Braaten has no prior criminal record in Bonner County or the state of Idaho, according to the Idaho Supreme Court Data Repository.

Nineteen Bonner County residents — 17 women and two men — have been prosecuted for embezzlement since 2005.