Theft of Charities’ Funds Admitted

An Oxnard accountant has pleaded guilty to grand theft charges for embezzling more than $650,000 from two charities that raise money for mentally disabled residents in Ventura County and Santa Maria.

Paul E. Peachey, 60, owned a company that for 18 years provided accounting services for thrift stores run by two charities.

Ventura County prosecutors say Peachey altered checks made out to him or his company over a three-year period and used the money to build a luxury home in Northern California.

Peachey stole $234,989 from the Santa Maria Assn. for the Retarded Foundation and about $418,951 from the Foundation for Retarded Citizens of Ventura County, according to authorities.

Investigators tracked some of the stolen money and learned that Peachey had used it to build a 5,400-square-foot home on 20 acres in Tulare County, authorities said. The street leading to the property is called Peachey Parkway.

Peachey, a longtime Ventura County resident, altered the checks by adding numbers and then depositing them into his accounts, authorities said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Howard Wise said Peachey was caught after one of the charities noticed a problem in its books. The accountant was later charged with multiple counts of grand theft and income tax evasion.

On Thursday, Peachey pleaded guilty in Ventura County Superior Court to three counts of grand theft and admitted that he signed false California tax returns that did not reflect the income he received for the money he stole.

“This is an egregious theft,” Wise said Friday. “This is a lot of money from a charity. . . . The victims are the people who would be receiving the money.”

Peachey, who could face more than 12 years in state prison, is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 6. His attorney declined to comment Friday.

Peachey also faces a civil suit filed by the Ventura County foundation, court records show. The case is pending trial.