BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Editor's note: The above video previously aired on KING 5 when this investigation began.
A senior leader with Bellingham’s Unity Village, a temporary tiny home community for the homeless, has been charged with theft for allegedly taking over $75,000 from the organization for personal use.
The Bellingham Police Department confirmed Jim Peterson was charged with Theft in the 1st Degree and booked into the Whatcom County Jail on Friday.
Unity Village includes 22 tiny homes and is run by the nonprofit HomesNOW.
Peterson was allegedly withdrawing money from the nonprofit’s checking account to use at fast-food restaurants, Tobacco stores, casinos, and even gas stations, according to a probable cause document from Bellingham police.
Peterson allegedly spent more than $12,000 at fast-food chains, another $3,700 at multiple coffee establishments, and a total of at least $3,500 between Silver Reef Casino and Skagit Casino, according to police documents.
Police said surveillance footage obtained from some of the establishments confirmed it was Peterson making the purchases.
Police started investigating Peterson in September after the HomesNOW co-founder, Doug Gustafson, started noticing something was off with the books.
Gustafson followed the money trail which led to the Silver Reef Casino Resort, with stops at ATMs and pot shops along the way.
The alleged thefts date back to February.
In total, police said the estimated loss of charitable donation funds from the HomesNOW checking account is estimated at over $75,000.
Gustafson told KING 5 in an interview last month steps are being taken to ensure something like this doesn’t happen again.
"We're gonna have two board members sign off on the bank statements every month, go through each transaction and account for it. We'll have two signers on it. That way we know we have two sets of eyes,” Gustafson said.
Peterson previously resigned from his position with the nonprofit.