LOS ANGELES – A former Long Beach City clerk who admitted embezzling money from the city’s Animal Care Services Bureau was sentenced today to three years state prison and ordered to nearly $650,000 in restitution, the District Attorney’s Office announced.
Deputy District Attorney Dana Aratani of the Public Integrity Division said Jongluck Mutrais, 59, was ordered to pay $600,000 to Long Beach Animal Care Services and $48,194 to the state’s Franchise Tax Board. Mutrais was sentenced by Commissioner Robert Kawahara.
The City of Orange resident pleaded guilty on Aug. 24 to one felony count of misappropriation of public funds and one felony count to filing a false income tax return. In exchange for her plea, the remaining seven counts were dismissed today.
Mutrais, who resigned in August 2010, was charged in May with embezzling the money over the 10 years that she worked for the agency.
Aratani said the theft came to light in August 2010 after the bureau, which is responsible for kennel operations, dog licensing, adoption and general animal control, implemented a comprehensive computer system to track funds.
