As authorities investigate the alleged embezzlement of approximately $1.5 million in taxpayer funds from the Fresno Arts Council, many in the arts community are asking who should be held accountable.

City officials are pointing fingers at the Fresno Arts Council, but some in the arts community say the city also shares in the blame. Some say the city didn’t have enough safeguards and oversight in place when it hired the arts nonprofit to administer the annual multi-million-dollar “Expanded Access to Arts and Culture” grant program funded by Measure P.

Several impacted grantees aired their grievances during an hours-long meeting of the Fresno Parks, Recreation and Arts Commission (PRAC) on Monday night — the first monthly meeting since news broke of the alleged embezzlement. The PRAC is an independent recommendation and oversight body made up of community members to ensure Measure P expenditures are consistent with the measure’s intended goals.

“It’s a structural issue within the city and their contracts and their contractors,” said Jazmen Moore, an artist and grant recipient. “It’s not the contractor’s fault, it’s the city’s responsibility. When you hire people, you’re responsible for them.”

Fresno City Manager Georgeanne White defended the city’s execution of its grant in response to questions from PRAC Chair Kimberly McCoy. White stood firm in saying the city isn’t to blame, noting the agreement came before the PRAC commission as well as the Fresno City Council for review and approval.

“The City did nothing wrong. I stand by that 100%. It is a very unfortunate situation,” White said.

It’s not immediately clear how the city will administer the third cycle of the grant program, though White said the city would move the program in-house and ended its contract with the Arts Council effective Feb. 20. The city is focused on making whole impacted grantees of cycle two, which consists of 33 organizations that have not received any payment.

However, White said Monday the city will not take money from other departments in the middle of a budget year “to fix the Arts Council’s mistake.”

“We’re not doing that. This administration is not going to do that,” she said.

On Thursday, the Fresno City Council authorized the city to accept reimbursement from the Fresno Arts Council and to spend up to $1.5 million for the arts and culture grant program, contingent upon the amount of funds received.

The Fresno Arts Council confirmed on Feb. 6 that it was “the victim of unauthorized financial transactions resulting in the loss of agency funds” by an employee no longer with the organization.

The Fresno Police Department, in coordination with the FBI, is investigating the alleged embezzlement, officials say. Police have issued several search warrants, but no arrests or charges have been filed. According to city sources who spoke with The Bee on condition of anonymity, the former operations manager from Fresno Arts Council, Suliana Caldwell, is said to be under investigation for alleged embezzlement. Caldwell is no longer with the organization.

The Fresno Arts Council board and Executive Director Lilia Gonzáles Chávez have not responded to multiple requests for comment. In a Feb. 13 statement, the Board said it was cooperating with the City of Fresno and law enforcement, but would not comment further due to the active investigation.

‘Be angry with the Fresno Arts Council’

City officials say they’re “appalled” by the lack of financial controls at the Arts Council and deny the city has a share in the blame.

“The city of Fresno did everything it was supposed to do under the agreement,” White said. “If people want to be angry with someone, be angry with the Fresno Arts Council.”

Omé Lopez, founder of Dulce Upfront, a community media access nonprofit, serves as the fiscal sponsor for 21 grant recipients and has been an outspoken critic of the EEAC grant process. Lopez said the Arts Council’s executive director, Chávez, as well as others at the Arts Council, City Council and the PRAC share in the responsibility — especially as members of the arts community have been sounding the alarm on transparency issues since the fall.

“I look at our bank accounts every week. I have accountants CPAs and other people that review it,” she said “So it’s not just on (one) person like Suliana of embezzling.”

Elizabeth Laval, president of the Fresno City and County Historical Society, said in an interview she’s concerned the Fresno Arts Council board didn’t know something was “awry.”

“That’s just not acceptable,” she said.

Heated exchange between White, PRAC Commissioner

PRAC Chair Kimberly McCoy had some heated words for the city’s top administrator during Monday night’s meeting.

“It’s all unfortunate, right? That this has happened and there were no safeguards, or nothing between the contract with the city and the Fresno Arts Council –”

“There were safeguards,” White responded.

“Well then, they were not followed,” McCoy said.

“They were followed,” White said.

“Then we wouldn’t be having this conversation if they were followed, because $1.5 million is missing,” McCoy said.

White said the city wanted to administer the money from the start but decided to contract out the project under pressure from the arts community.

“Now it sounds like you’re putting blame on the arts community,” McCoy said.

White acknowledged the city could have had more oversight of the arts and culture grant program.

“I wish there would have been quarterly reports in that agreement. There weren’t. That wasn’t ultimately what was negotiated. It was an annual report. That was what came before the Council,” she said.

White said the city would file a claim with the Arts Council’s insurance to try to recover any possible funding.

“If, in fact, somebody’s arrested, and this turns out to be a theft, that’s going to be excluded from a lot of insurance coverages,” she said.

The next PRAC meeting is March 16, 2026.

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“Estoy enojado.” Amigo cercano de César Chávez, organizador principal de la marcha de 1966, habla

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