BY DAN HILDEBRAN
The founder and operator of a Melrose-area animal rescue has been accused of using the nonprofit’s funds to buy land and a mobile home for herself.
On June 27, the State Attorney based in Daytona Beach charged Edna Elaine West with two counts of failing to apply contributions consistent with solicitations. The 61-year-old founder of Rooterville, a Sancturary, Inc., is also facing charges of unregistered solicitation, submitting false information in a public document, comingling charitable contributions with noncharitable funds, fraudulent use of personal identification, and organized fraud.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed by a Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services investigator, West used $246,475.24 in the charity’s funds to purchase around 30 acres in Putnam County in her name. She is also alleged to have used an additional $100,631 in Rooterville funds to buy a mobile home for her personal use.
The report said that in April, West told investigators that she considered the withdrawals from the nonprofit’s bank accounts for the real estate purchases as loans.
The report states, “West stated there is no legal paperwork or deeds in place for the loan she took from Rooterville. Loans to directors or officers of a nonprofit organization are unlawful…”
The affidavit further alleges that West sold two of the three parcels she bought with Rooterville funds and then deposited the $113,538.59 sales proceeds into her own bank account.
Additional charges surround the allegation that West filed paperwork designating another individual as a Rooterville officer without that individual’s knowledge.
West told a Jacksonville television station after her arrest that the charges stem from unfiled paperwork with the state.
“I am a person of integrity,” West told WJXT. “I don’t steal. I don’t lie. I certainly don’t embezzle, and I’ve never committed fraud.”
The animal rescue’s founder has also defended herself on the charity’s website.
“There have been false rumors about my personal life recently, which is unfortunate,” West wrote on Rooterville.org. “Responding to untruthful statements initiated by a couple of ill-intended people would only serve their self-interests.”
