Second nonprofit comes forward with allegations against Humane Society of the Desert

Before being the founder of Kittylands, Ann Woods was a cat lady. She was a cat and dog lady, a board member of the animal rescue group “Save a Pet,” which built the animal hospital of Desert Hot Springs.

But a few years ago, the “Save-a-Pet” land in Desert Hot Springs was re-zoned.

“So it meant there were too many animals on the property. So we had to find somewhere else for the animals to go,” Woods said.

“Save-a-Pet” needed a little saving of its own.

“We were offered a handout from the Humane Society to take our animals over there,” Woods said.

Woods said after a protracted legal battle, Humane Society board president Malinda Bustos acquired “Save-a-Pet” and the animal hospital for the Humane Society and took just the dogs.

Woods got the land, which is now Kittyland.

“I suggested to Malinda, that when that does materialize, you might want to share that, as the money was supposed to go to the dogs and the cats, and the cats had not gone over to the Humane Society. They had stayed here,” Woods said.

Woods says the “Save-a-Pet” trust money was to be split 50-50 with the money coming to “Save-a-Pet” via the Humane Society.

So they agreed to that and had an attorney and it was legally drawn up at that time, that that would happen,” Woods said.

An email obtained by News Channel 3 reportedly written by a vice president at U.S. Trust spells out how payments from the Charles Shady Trust would be distributed. In quarterly payments, plus a bonus “make-up” payment, beginning in January 2015.

Woods said the at first the money was coming through regularly but it stopped suddenly. She said they never got all the money owed to them.

“Last year, we were to get four, we got two. The year before that we got two, we should have got four,” Woods said.

Woods offered emails between herself and Bustos in 2017, in which Woods asks if the trust is operational this year.

“As it is may and (they have) not heard anything”

Bustos wrote that the Humane Society had “not received a payment yet.”

When asked by Woods if this is “the end of the distributions?” She answers “Yes. That is my understanding.”

The distributions don’t have an end date and as far as Woods knows, the trust continues to pay out. Woods estimates over the last three years the Humane Society has held back $30,000 to $50,0000.

On paper, Bustos is no longer involved with the Humane Society. News Channel 3 tried to reach Bustos for comment. She now lives in Arizona and did not respond to our requests.

New Humane Society board members Phil Cox and Kim Hardee did not dispute Woods’ claims about the trust. We showed them communication going back two years, in which Woods repeatedly asked Humane Society board members for a full accounting of the Shady Trust money and Kittyland’s cut of it.

“I’ve never seen that before. I know there is a Shady Trust. It is split between the two 501c3’s and we plan to make it right,” Hardee said.

Hardee and Cox said they don’t know what’s come in.

“Once we do the proper accounting if any funds are owed to Kittyland. Boom, they will be getting those funds. Immediately,” Cox said.

Woods says that’s all she wants.

“We are a small rescue, Woods said. “And that money would save us.”

Since we got involved, the Humane Society has made at least one payment to Kittyland but the Humane Society says they’re still trying to account for the money that came in from the trust. Forensic accounting was done at the request of some board members. We were told today that the accountant handed it over to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department without showing board members what it contained.

As we have reported, the Sheriff’s Department has confirmed they are actively investigating current and former board members.