Former Plumas County Dispatcher Cassandra Lavely pleaded not guilty to three felony embezzlement charges. The accusations involve misappropriating funds, over $20,000, from the Sheriff’s Employees Association’s accounts designated for underprivileged children’s gifts. Lavely’s arrest on April 12 led to her arraignment this week.
Assistant DA Graham Archer stated suspicions arose when Lavely attended a statewide conference in Anaheim last year with Chandler Paey, a SO deputy and the association’s president at the time. Paey discovered unauthorized charges, including airfare and Disneyland tickets. Lavely initially denied wrongdoing but later resigned and reimbursed some expenses. Further investigation found over $19,000 in unauthorized Amazon transactions and purchases from Costco.
Lavely is also facing charges for falsifying documents to hide these purchases. She was released without bail and barred from financial roles per the judges’ orders. Placed on administrative leave in November, Lavely’s next court appearance is on May 3 for a preliminary hearing.
