A former City of Gainesville employee accused of stealing more than $91,000 in taxpayer dollars, part of which was used to pay for a butt lift, will go to court Dec. 2 after rejecting a plea deal.
Former city staff specialist Natwaina Clark, 36, was arrested in 2017 after making 169 unauthorized purchases on company credit cards over a 16-month period from 2015 to 2017, according to court records.
Clark initially faced one charge of grand theft, two counts of money laundering and one scheme to defraud charge, according to court records.
According to county records, she used the funds on several personal items, including:
- $8,500 on a Brazilian butt lift
- $854.40 on plane tickets to Houston, Texas
- At least $3,485 on gift cards to various stores
- $318.97 on fruit arrangements
- $373 on seafood
- $1543.80 on Sprint purchases
- $1,788.93 on medieval faire attire and gear
- $345.37 on two iPods
- A $1,300 70-inch 4K TV
Records show money was also spent on:
- A drone
- A dining room table
- A touch-screen laptop
- Kevin Durant shoes
- Two drifting scooter boards
Clark had a seven-year plea deal on the table from prosecutors but rejected the offer, according to county records.
Clark is now being charged with seven counts of felony grand theft in addition to the previous charges of money laundering and scheming to defraud, which have a maximum of 35 years in prison upon conviction, according to court records.
Clark’s trial and jury selection had been rescheduled at least twice before the most recent rescheduling of Nov. 4 to Dec. 2, according to court records.
Clark was released from Alachua County Jail after paying a bond of $20,000.
Natwaina Clark
