Former Lake Tahoe Humane Society director arrested on embezzlement charges

Detectives from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department flew to Tennessee overnight to arrest Nicola "Niki" Congero, the former executive director of Lake Tahoe Humane Society.

Congero, 50, was arrested without incident on the morning of Wednesday, August 1 and booked into the Knoxville jail on charges of embezzling approximately $60,000 from the South Lake Tahoe based non-profit. She is being held there on $200,000 bail and is currently awaiting extradition.

On July 27, 2018 the El Dorado County District Attorney’s office obtained a warrant for Congero’s arrest. SLTPD detectives had investigated the case since March 14, 2017 when board members of the Lake Tahoe Humane Society (LTHS) reported to the police department that they believed their director had been embezzling money from the group. SLTPD turned in their completed report to the District Attorney's Office at the end of 2017. The DA's office has investigated for the last seven months.

Congero came to South Lake Tahoe from Las Vegas, Nevada when she was hired by LTHS in 2014.

Congero allegedly used her Humane Society debit card to pay for things such as gambling, rental furniture for her home, dentist bills, family cell phones, repairs to family members vehicles, and numerous point of sale purchases with cash back at casinos, just to name a few.

As with all crimes of this type, the investigation was very lengthy and in depth. SLTPD detectives were given bankers boxes full of receipts dating back three years that needed to each be investigated as to if it was a legitimate Humane Society expense or a fraudulent one. Several of the purchases were for legitimate expenses, however, Congero also withdrew cash at the point of sale which was not authorized. During the investigation, Congero moved to Knoxville Tennessee, for unknown reasons.

On June 1, 2017, Before she moved, SLTPD served a search warrant at her South Lake Tahoe home, removing boxes and furniture, all part of their case.

SLTPD detectives have kept tabs on her location with the assistance of Knoxville Police Department.

"We are happy to know the police and District Attorney's Office have taken care of this," said Lorna Lefler, former president of the LTHS board when Congero was let go.

"The Lake Tahoe Humane Society, supports the Deputy District Attorney and our law enforcement for their efforts and hopeful resolution with this matter," said LTHS spokesperson Chantale Hansen, the current LTHS vice-president of operations. "We are confident that justice will be served to the fullest extent of the law. The impact that the alleged embezzlement has had on our community and the organization was heartbreaking and unfathomable, but, we stand united and aligned as a community and are encouraged that we can restore the Humane Society to good standing. The new Board of Directors has been working diligently for the past ninety days to implement new stringent business practices, checks and balances, and criminal background checks to demonstrate to the community and supporters that we are trustworthy and good stewards of all philanthropic contributions. We aim to be very transparent with this beloved community and stay focused on building something remarkable for the welfare of our animals for generations to come."

At the time of Congero being let go from LTHS, she retained local attorney Adam Spicer. In a call to his office on Tuesday, he didn't take calls and his receptionist couldn't confirm or deny he was still her attorney.

South Tahoe Now has been in communication with the District Attorney's Office since they obtained the case from SLTPD. Every two to four weeks they'd inform us that "the case is still under investigation." When news first broke of the warrant being issued we waited until she was in the hands of law enforcement, in case she thought of leaving Knoxville before detectives arrived.

They again interviewed Congero and her husband before placing Niki under arrest.