Former Fresno Arts Council Manager Sentenced to 33 Months in Federal Prison for Embezzling over $1.8 Million in Public Funds

FRESNO, Calif. — Suliana Caldwell, 46, of Fresno, was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison for stealing over $1.8 million in public funds from the Fresno Arts Council (“FAC”), U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced. According to court records, Caldwell was the FAC’s operations manager from 2021 to February 2026. In this position, she managed the FAC’s bank accounts, payroll, grants, donations, and general finances. Her duties also included providing periodic financial updates and reports to the executive director, board members, and the City and County of Fresno. “This defendant abused her position, betrayed the public’s trust, and siphoned away over $1.8 million intended to support parks, trails, and the arts in Fresno,” said U.S. Attorney Grant. “She lied and falsified financial reports in order to use taxpayer dollars to fund casino trips, vacations, and personal indulgences. Her actions undermined a community that believed in her. Today’s sentence reflects our commitment to protecting public funds and holding accountable anyone who exploits her position for personal gain.” "Suliana Caldwell betrayed the public’s trust when she embezzled over $1.8 million from the Fresno Arts Council for personal use,” said FBI Sacramento Acting Special Agent in Charge Brian Tosh. “Today’s sentencing underscores our commitment to investigating public corruption at every level. We encourage anyone with information on corruption to report it to the FBI so we can continue holding bad actors accountable and protecting community resources." “While it is disappointing that the community’s trust was violated by the theft Caldwell committed, we are grateful that the Fresno Police Department’s partnership with FBI investigators helped the U.S. Attorney’s Office to swiftly bring justice for the taxpayers in the City of Fresno,” said Fresno Police Chief Mindy Casto. Beginning in 2022, Caldwell embezzled funds by making unauthorized withdrawals of money from the FAC’s bank accounts. In 2023, after the Fresno City Council designated the FAC to administer its Measure P grant money, Caldwell significantly increased the amount of money she stole from the FAC’s accounts and ultimately took more than $80,000 per month on average. Measure P is a tax initiative approved by Fresno voters in 2018 to provide funding for parks, trails, and the arts, among other things. Caldwell concealed her theft by using her position of trust as the operations manager to falsify financial reports, which omitted her theft and represented that there were significantly higher balances in the FAC’s bank accounts than was true. She then presented the false reports to the FAC’s executive director, board members, and others to trick them into believing everything was okay. Caldwell received an enhancement to her sentence because of this abuse of trust. In total, Caldwell stole over $1.8 million from the FAC. She then used the money to gamble at local casinos where she enjoyed various VIP statuses, pay for vacations, and for other improper personal expenses. The FAC detected Caldwell’s theft in February 2026 when one of its checks bounced. Caldwell was subsequently fired and charged in this case. This case is the product of an investigation by the FBI and the Fresno Police Department. Assistance was also provided by the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Cody Chapple and Joseph Barton prosecuted the case.