The former executive director the Lynnwood-based Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project clinic has been charged with stealing more than $61,000 from the nonprofit organization over a two-month period in 2018.

Jason Thompson, 39, was charged July 14 in Snohomish County Superior Court with first-degree theft following a Lynnwood police investigation.

Thompson had been employed since June 2014 at the clinic, which provides free spay/neuter services for free-roaming cats, and low-cost services for tame cats. He was fired in July 2018 after the clinic’s bookkeeper discovered money missing from the clinic’s bank account.

According to charging documents, Thompson told the bookkeeper that the bank mistakenly took money out of the clinic’s business account instead of a personal banking account he claimed to have set up. “Thompson eventually stated he closed his personal account to remedy the situation, but the withdrawals continued,” the charging documents said.

The bookkeeper also told police that Thompson had submitted fake invoices from companies the clinic had done prior business with.

Thompson eventually admitted to the clinic secretary and bookkeeper “that he had a gambling problem” and confessed to taking the money to gamble with, the charging documents said.

The final amount taken from the business was $61,521.13, minus $10,000 that Thompson had paid back.

Thompson is set to be arraigned on July 27.