Ex-UC Davis assistant apologizes before she’s sentenced in embezzlement case
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- Meagan Emily McFadden was sentenced in a UC Davis embezzlement case.
- The former executive assistant was convicted of felony misappropriation of public funds.
- The former UC Davis fire chief still faces a felony charge in the embezzlement case.
A Yolo Superior Court judge on Thursday sentenced a former executive assistant at the UC Davis Fire Department who was convicted in an embezzlement case for fraudulently receiving more than $40,000 in unearned overtime pay with the alleged approval of the fire chief who still faces criminal charges.
Judge Paul Richardson sentenced Meagan Emily McFadden to 180 days in the Yolo County Jail for a felony conviction of misappropriating public money. She worked for Nathan Trauernicht at the UC Davis Fire Department for more than four years, before she left her campus job in January 2024.
Trauernicht, the former fire chief, allegedly approved numerous fraudulent paychecks for his female assistant. In December 2024, a Yolo County criminal grand jury indicted Trauernicht on a charge of misappropriating public funds while working for UC Davis. He resigned from his campus job two months before he was indicted. He has pleaded not guilty to that charge.
Defendant spoke in court
Before she was sentenced, McFadden, 35, apologized in court and asked the judge to allow her to serve her sentence at home while wearing a GPS-monitoring device.
“I’m writing this letter to you because I would like to sincerely apologize. I take responsibility for my misconduct. It is truly something that is extremely out of character for me,” McFadden read from the letter in court. “I do not have a history of any criminal activity, because I’ve always respected the justice system and obeying the law. I’m asking for the court’s consideration for electric monitoring to serve my punishment, because I’m a new mom to a 3-month-old baby.”
McFadden explained to the judge that serving her sentence in jail would create a significant hardship for her family, since her husband is a firefighter who works more than two hours away from home at least three days a week.
She promised to wear the GPS monitor on her ankle while complying with all court orders and conditions of her probation while serving her sentence and caring for her infant child.
McFadden told the judge that she wants “to be a good role model for my baby and accept that actions have consequences.”
Yolo judge’s sentence
Richardson told McFadden that she must apply for an alternative sentence program at the Yolo County Jail. Those programs are offered and run by the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office.
The judge said she has time to apply for one of the programs, including GPS monitoring. Richardson said McFadden has until April 16 to apply and become accepted into one of the program or surrender herself at the jail on that date and begin serving her sentence.
Richardson also ordered McFadden to pay $42,000 in restitution to the university and serve three years of probation. The judge said McFadden, while on probation, must obey all laws, not possess any firearms or ammunition, stay 100 yards away from the UC Davis campus, not associate with Trauernicht and not seek or work in any jobs in which she would have control of funds and financial accounts such as an accountant, bookkeeper or payroll specialist.
Thomas Johnson, McFadden’s attorney, told the judge that his client can pay the full restitution within 60 days.
“Ms. McFadden deeply regrets the conduct as you could hear in her voice,” Johnson said in court. “She did in fact take advantage of a situation.”
The defense attorney said his client also was “publicly humiliated” as the case unfolded in court. Johnson said McFadden did right by offering to plead guilty early in the court process and pay restitution.
“I think she has shown you this morning who she really is,” Johnson told the judge. “I don’t think she’ll ever be seen in a courtroom again.”
Criminal charges dropped
As part of McFadden’s plea deal with prosecutors, a felony charge of embezzlement by a clerk or agent against her was dismissed, along with an enhancement that alleged aggravating circumstances.
The Yolo County District Attorney’s Office had also charged McFadden with perjury. In the criminal complaint filed against McFadden, prosecutors alleged she took an oath to testify truthfully for the grand jury and provided statements she “knew to be false.” Prosecutors dropped the perjury charge as part of the plea deal with McFadden.
Deputy District Attorney Preston Schaub, who appeared in court Thursday on the behalf of the prosecutor on the case, said he’s only seen a few defendants apologize in court and admit wrongdoing as McFadden did. He said it’s also rare to see a defendant willing to pay full restitution.
“It’s not the goal of the criminal justice system to humiliate or embarrass,” Schaub told the judge. “That being said, shame is a very powerful motivator. And these are public proceedings. It’s almost impossible for us to insulate defendants from that kind of embarrassment.”
Trauernicht, 46, was the UC Davis fire chief for nearly 13 years before he resigned eight months after McFadden left the Fire Department.
Deputy District Attorney Frits Van der Hoek, the prosecutor in the embezzlement case, has said in court that Trauernicht displayed “creepy behavior” in the workplace and approved numerous fraudulent paychecks for McFadden, an employee with whom he was seeking a romantic relationship.
Van der Hoek argued that Trauernicht, when he failed to form a romantic relationship with McFadden, formed a romantic relationship with another female subordinate. Van der Hoek said that relationship was ultimately exposed, and a search of his phone revealed Trauernicht’s sexual behavior with the other female employee at the fire station.
McFadden, who had a 40-hour work week as one of Trauernicht’s two assistants, submitted timesheets that would typically claim she worked 20 hours on Thursday of the first week in the pay period and 20 hours on Tuesday of the second week, the judge has said. Every other day on McFadden’s timesheet only claimed she worked eight hours.
The criminal case for Trauernicht, who is being prosecuted separately, is scheduled to return to court March 5 to determine when to schedule a trial.
