Newberg woman charged with animal shelter theft

A Newberg woman is accused of embezzling more than $86,000 from the Newberg Animal Shelter.

Laura Marie Stone, 39, who served as treasurer of the nonprofit “no kill” shelter for three years, was indicted by a Yamhill County grand jury on five felony counts of theft, three counts of aggravated theft, and misdemeanor misapplication of entrusted property.

The arrest followed a six-month investigation. The sheriff’s office said Stone disabled the shelter’s PayPal account and arranged for more than $16,000 of donated funds to be transferred to her personal PayPal account.

The investigation also found Stone had stolen $70,000 in donations and fees from the shelter during her tenure as treasurer, from January 2017 to December 2019, according to the sheriff’s office.

Special Investigations Unit Detective Will Lavish worked closely with members of the Newberg Animal Shelter Board in obtaining financial information and other evidence.

Stone, who posted bail, has no criminal history, according to her Portland defense attorney Mark Cogan. He said the grand jury did not hear both sides of the case.

“Laura Stone has not had her day in court,” Cogan said. “The government has to prove a person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and that has not been done.”