‘Operation Heartless’: Ex-Humane Society Director Arrested for Stealing $1.5 Million From Shelter

'The Humane Society may not be the first victim in this particular case'

Booking photos of Susan Arneson and her husband, Douglas O'Berry, following their February 9, 2022 arrest for embezzling $1.5 million from the Humane Society where she once served as director of development. Hernando County Detention Center

A former Humane Society director and her husband have been arrested for allegedly embezzling $1.5 million from the shelter in an operation called Operation Heartless.

At a Feb. 10 press conference, Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis announced the Feb. 9 arrest of Susana Arneson and her husband Douglas O’Berry on three felony charges regarding the embezzlement of $1.5 million from the Humane Society of the Nature Coast in Brooksville, Florida, where Arneson was once employed as the shelter’s director of development. Bond is set for $750,000 for each of them.

Booking Information for Susana Arneson after her arrest for embezzling $1.5 million from the animal shelter she worked for. Hernando County Detention Center

Booking photo for Douglas O'Berry following his arrest for the embezzlement of $1.5 million from the Humane Society where his wife once worked. Hernando County Detention Center

A task force assisting Hernando County detectives included members of the Pinellas and Pasco County Sheriff’s offices and the United States Secret Service.

Arneson was not a stranger to Nienhuis. On Easter Sunday in April 2020, burglars broke into the shelter and stole 90 percent of the shelter’s supplies. During a tearful interview with WFLA, Arneson said, “It takes somebody who’s heartless to take from somebody who’s voiceless.”

“At the time of that video that was shot about the burglary,” Nienhuis said at the press conference, “she had already funneled over $300,000 into her personal account and was able to make several purchases for personal items.”

The items include a 2003 Sea Fox purchased for $22,000 in cash. Arneson also paid $40,000 for a brand new 2020 Jeep Wrangler. Five days after the burglary, Arneson paid $220,000 in cash for a brand new home less than a mile from the shelter. In March 2021 two trucks were purchased and registered with Bottoms Up Charter, a business the sheriff suspects was also paid for with stolen money. O’Berry also purchased a popular local business called Precision Tackle. Nienhuis said this too was purchased with the “ill-gotten gains.” Nienhuis also said Arneson did some “international travel,” during which time she underwent a “tremendous transformation.”

In November 2021, Nienhuis discovered that the Internal Revenue Service “actually filed a couple of liens against her for the 2012 and 2013 tax years for a total of about $400,000.”

“It’s ironic that she has tax liens from about 10 years ago,” Nienhuis said, adding she “made a tremendous amount of money and whether that money was legal or illegal, we’re still trying to figure out.”

“The bottom line is, the Humane Society may not be the first victim in this particular case,” Nienhuis said.