Vet Clinic Manager Embezzled $624K, Gambled Away Every Cent Online

A former manager of a West Virginia nonprofit veterinary clinic has admitted embezzling more than $624,000 from his employer to feed an online gambling addiction—and ultimately gambling away every cent.

Jerod Timothy Vannatter, 43, pleaded guilty Monday (September 28) to a federal money laundering charge in relation to his theft from Help for Animals in Barboursville, W.Va.

Vannatter managed the veterinary clinic from approximately February 2018 until February 2025, overseeing its administrative operations, including payroll and vendor payments. By December 2024, his annual salary was around $110,000, according to his plea agreement.

But beginning around October 2022, Vannatter began exploiting his control over the clinic’s finances to funnel money into his own bank account.

Fake Invoices, Unearned Paychecks

Vannatter admitted issuing numerous payroll checks and other unearned payments to himself.

He also created bogus vendor invoices, arranged for the clinic to pay them, and directed the money into his personal checking account. Court documents include a lengthy list of checks and payments made during the scheme.

By the time it ended, Vannatter had embezzled precisely $624,599.86.

Vannatter was unusually explicit about what drove him to steal the money.

“I initiated and continued my embezzlement scheme because I was addicted to online gambling,” he said in the signed statement.

“All of the proceeds from my embezzlement have been lost through gambling,” he added.

Court documents don’t identify which gambling sites Vannatter used, nor do they state whether he gambled with licensed West Virginia operators or offshore platforms.

Help for Animals employees told WSAZ-TV this week that the theft left the nonprofit roughly $200,000 in the red. Staff said they continued working to keep the clinic operating despite the financial damage.

$20K Transfer Leads to Money Laundering Plea

Despite admitting stealing the entire sum, Vannatter pleaded guilty to a single count of money laundering related to one $20,000 transaction.

On October 11, 2023, he transferred $20,000 from his personal checking account into his savings account. Vannatter admitted knowing the money came from his fraud against the clinic.

Under his plea agreement, Vannatter has also agreed to pay $624,599.86 in restitution and cooperate with authorities in identifying assets that could be used to compensate the clinic.

He faces up to 10 years in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. He is scheduled to be sentenced February 16, 2027.