Former Fresno Art Council Manager Pleads Guilty to Embezzling $1.8 Million of Publicly Designated Funds

FRESNO, Calif. - Suliana Caldwell, 46, of Fresno, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud involving over $1.8 million in funds stolen from the Fresno Art Council, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

According to court documents, Caldwell worked as the Fresno Art Council's operation's manager from 2021 to February 2026. In this position, she managed the Fresno Arts Council'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.

Beginning in 2022, Caldwell began embezzling funds by making unauthorized withdrawals of money from the Fresno Arts Council's bank accounts. In 2023, after the Fresno City Council designated the Fresno Arts Council to administer the Measure P grant money, Caldwell significantly increased the amount of money she withdrew from the Council's accounts. Measure P is a tax initiative approved by Fresno voters in 2018 to provide funding for parks, trails, and the arts, among other things. In August 2023, the Fresno Arts Council received $9.4 million in Measure P funds, and in October 2024, it received an additional $5.7 million in a second round of funding.

Caldwell concealed the fraud by using her position of trust as the operations manager to alter and falsify financial reports that showed incorrect funds in Fresno Arts Council bank accounts. She presented these reports to the Fresno Arts Council executive director, board members, and others as accurate when they were not.

Between June 2022 and February 2026, Caldwell stole more than $1.8 million from the Fresno Arts Council. She then used the funds to gamble at local casinos, pay for vacations, and for other improper personal expenses.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fresno Police Department are conducting the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cody S. Chapple and Joseph D. Barton are prosecuting the case.

Caldwell is scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on Aug. 10, 2026. Caldwell faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.