Former Bellevue Arts Museum CFO charged with embezzlement

The former chief financial officer of the Bellevue Arts Museum was charged today with 38 counts of theft for allegedly embezzling $300,000 from the museum.

According to King County prosecutors, Janet Ellinger, 53, of Redmond, stole the money from October 2005 until May of this year. She worked for the museum for two years before being evicted from the building once the accusations came to light.

Prosecutors say Ellinger took most of the money by writing checks to herself and then covering them up with fake entries in the museum's financial ledger. She also used her corporate credit card for personal expenses and funneled money through checks made out to her college-age son, who was not involved in the embezzlement, according to charging documents.

Neither Ellinger nor her attorney could be immediately reached today.

Ellinger has cooperated with police and museum officials and, according to the museum, has returned a small amount of the money.

She told police that she took the money because she was in the process of separating from her husband and felt "financially compromised," according to prosecutors.

Ellinger and her husband separated in September 2005, and she filed for divorce in June of this year, according to court documents.

She told police that she spent the stolen money on private-school tuition for her son, vacations, wood floors and cabinets for her home, credit-card bills, mortgage payments and clothes.

Reporter Peyton Whitely contributed to this story. Ashley Bach: 206-464-2567 or abach@seattletimes.com