CA University Fire Department Executive Assistant Accused of Embezzlement

UC Davis executive assistant in court
Meagan McFadden, the former UC Davis fire department chief’s executive assistant, attends her arraignment hearing with attorney Thomas Johnson on Tuesday at Yolo Superior Court. McFadden, 34, faces felony charges of misappropriating public money and embezzlement.

Rosalio Ahumada – The Sacramento Bee

A former executive assistant at UC Davis accused of embezzlement while working for the campus fire department made her first appearance Tuesday in Yolo Superior Court.

Meagan Emily McFadden faces felony charges of misappropriating public money, embezzlement, along with an enhancement alleging aggravating circumstances. She also is accused of perjury. Thomas Johnson, McFadden’s attorney, entered not guilty pleas on behalf of his client.

McFadden, 34, worked for more than four years as an executive assistant for Nathan Jon Trauernicht, the former UC Davis fire chief who also is accused of misappropriating public money while working for the campus.

McFadden left her job at UC Davis early last year. Trauernicht, 45, was the UC Davis fire chief for nearly 13 years before he resigned three months ago. Trauernicht pleaded not guilty to the felony charge at his arraignment hearing last month.

Judge Clara Levers scheduled McFadden to return to court March 4 to appear before Judge Paul Richardson, who is also presiding over Trauernicht’s case.

While their cases are related, Trauernicht and McFadden have been charged separately and are in different phases of the court process.

The former UC Davis fire chief has been indicted by a Yolo County criminal grand jury, which means his case skips the preliminary hearing phase and moves straight to trial. Trauernicht’s trial has not yet been scheduled.

Prosecutors have filed a criminal complaint against McFadden. The criminal case against McFadden must go through the preliminary hearing, where a judge will determine whether she should stand trial as charged.

“We’re trying to line up both cases,” said Deputy District Attorney Frits Van der Hoek, who is prosecuting Trauernicht and McFadden.

McFadden, who testified for the grand jury in December, faces an additional charge of perjury. In a second filed criminal complaint against McFadden, prosecutors alleged she took an oath to testify truthfully and provided statements she “knew to be false” on Dec. 4.

“I do not consider press releases from a District Attorney evidence of anything, we will address the actual evidence in court,” Johnson said last month about McFadden’s charges.

The court has ordered that Trauernicht and McFadden can remain free on their own recognizance as long as they are not in a position of authority over public money before the conclusion of their criminal cases.

Ex-fire chief’s case

In a separate hearing Tuesday morning, Trauernicht appeared via an online teleconferencing call for his second court appearance. Judge Richardson also scheduled Trauernicht’s case to return to court March 4.

Steven Plesser, Trauernicht’s attorney, has said his client “never misappropriated a penny of public money.” Plesser also has criticized the motivation behind the prosecution, calling the indictment “wholly misguided, and appears to be based entirely on speculation of an improper relationship between Mr. Trauernicht and Ms. McFadden that simply did not exist, and of which there is no evidence.”

Yolo Superior Court records show Trauernicht filed for divorce from his wife in May 2022, and his divorce was finalized in December of that year. A Nov. 16 post on a Facebook group page for Sacramento for used wedding items shows McFadden married her husband in a wedding in October.

The filed indictment alleges Trauernicht misappropriated public money from Oct. 16, 2021 through July 22, 2023. The criminal complaint filed against McFadden alleges she misappropriated public money on or about Oct. 16, 2021.

It’s unclear how much money was misappropriated and whether it was used to make any purchases. The indictment and criminal complaint does not provide any additional details on the alleged crimes.

UC Davis officials have said Trauernicht began working for the UC Davis Fire Department in April 2008 and resigned Oct. 1, after nearly 13 years as fire chief. McFadden worked as an executive assistant at the fire department from November 18, 2019, through Jan. 30, 2024.

The UC Davis Fire Department serves a campus community with more than 40,000 people.

Trauernicht at UC Davis had a base salary of $214,489 in 2022, and his total of pay and benefits that year was $240,663, according to compensation records provided by the state to Transparent California. The following year his base salary was $224,240 and his total of pay and benefits was $241,247.

Transparent California records show McFadden had a base salary of $57,757 in 2022, and her total of pay and benefits that year was $96,316. The following year her base salary was $61,482 and her total of pay and benefits was $88,939.

“We take seriously any alleged misuse of university funds and are fully cooperating with the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office,” UC Davis officials said last month in a written statement. “We continuously examine and update our oversight practices to ensure that our resources are used properly and that employees are held accountable for following university procedures and policies. We are performing a comprehensive, third-party review of fire department operations.”

The prosecutor and the defense attorneys on Tuesday received subpoenaed documents from UC Davis that contained information collected from two cell phones and digital cloud storage. The attorneys did not discuss in court what was contained in the documents; the court ordered that the documents remain sealed from public view.

©2025 The Sacramento Bee. Visit sacbee.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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