Accused and then found not guilty of embezzlement, Fresno State student fights back with suit against Merced family

By Maria Miranda
The Collegian

For most students a job means extra money—for Fresno State student Tiffany Fenters, it means a lawsuit against the Merced district attorney and a prominent Merced family.

Fenters and her parents, Virgil and Debra, are taking on Merced County, District Attorney Gordon Spencer, as well as the Abbate family, owner of Yosemite Chevron in Merced where Fenters worked.

In a complaint filed in Fresno Federal District Court in December, Fenters claims she was falsely accused of embezzling $11,000 from Yosemite Chevron. She also claims Spencer didn’t properly investigate the charges before filing them because he was a friend of the Abbates.

“I really feel my rights were violated,” said 22-year-old Fenters who transferred to Fresno State as a junior in the spring. “I could have gone to jail for something I didn’t do.”

Fenters’ attorney, Kevin Little, said the charges were initiated by the Abbate family after Fenters quit Chevron. He said Fenters quit the gas station when nothing was done about her unfair compensation and sexual harassment complaints.

“We believe they anticipated legal action and certain defendants took the initiative to beat her to the punch,” Little said.

In June 2003, Fenters was charged with embezzlement. She faced two and a half years of criminal proceedings. According to the claim, after only two hours of deliberation the jury found Fenters innocent.

“I can still hear those words ringing in my ears,” Fenters said. “I couldn’t believe it was over.”

Now, Fenters and her family hope for vindication.

“We want some recognition that wrongdoing occurred,” Little said. “We want justice first and foremost.”

Fenters will continue to face opposition with her lawsuit against the Abbate family. Claudia Leed, attorney for the Abbate family, said Fenter’s complaint lacks legal merit.

“We believe the Abbates have done nothing wrong,” Leed said. “We believe the claim is without merit and seek full dismissal.”

For Fenters, one of the hardest aspects of her ordeal was her loss of faith in the justice system.

“I’m not as trusting,” Fenters said. “I could find good in a rock. I can’t do that anymore.”

Her father Virgil, who described Fenters as honest and friendly, agrees.

“I think it made her skeptical of people,” said Virgil Fenters, a pastor in Gustine. “It disillusioned her.”

He added that Fenters would burst into tears over the smallest things. He said it was difficult to watch and one of the hardest things he had ever been through.

“A father is supposed to protect his little girl,” Virgil Fenters said. “In this situation I was completely helpless.”

Fenters, who hadn’t stepped foot in a courthouse since she was a child, described the trial as a surreal experience. She said it was strange being referred to as the “defendant.”

“It’s like I didn’t have a name,” Fenters said. “They say all these horrible, terrible things about you—I wouldn’t wish that on anybody.”

Fenters also said it felt as if she was being judged in the community.

“It was embarrassing having to explain to my teachers that I wasn’t going to juryduty,” said Fenters, who missed college classes and eventually had to drop due to court dates.

Also, being a pastor’s daughter added fuel to the fire.

“I was the talk of the town,” Fenters said. “I was the perfect rebel-daughter stereotype.”

Now Fenters is trying to move on with her life. She said in retrospect, it’s hard to believe it happened to her.

“It’s really weird,” said Fenters, who hopes to have a trial date for her lawsuit in mid-2007. “I almost look back at it like it didn’t happen—like it happened to someone else.”

In the meantime, Fenters moved to Fresno to attend Fresno State as a psychology major with the hopes of becoming a child psychologist.

To any students faced with unfavorable circumstances at work, Fenters said one thing: “Listen to your instincts.”

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