Ex-director charged with stealing from Advocates

Former Advocates of Ozaukee Executive Director Barbara A. Fischer was charged Monday in Ozaukee County Circuit Court with embezzling thousands of dollars from the organization she led for more than 21 years.

Fischer, 75, of Glendale faces one felony count of theft in a business setting of between $5,000 and $10,000. She is accused of using a credit card belonging to the organization that provides services to victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault and operates a shelter for women and children in the Town of Saukville to purchase everything from patio furniture to home goods for herself and a bedroom set for her daughter over a period of more than a year beginning in April 2024.

A criminal complaint details seven instances in which Fischer purchased items totaling $5,348 for herself or her daughter using the Advocates credit card, often describing the purchases in documentation as “shelter supplies.”

But the complaint also notes that an attorney representing Advocates told a Washington County Sheriff’s Office investigator that transactions Fischer made and acknowledged were unauthorized resulted in an agreement that $50,000 in restitution would be paid. The lawyer for Advocates said at the time that about $20,000 of that amount had been repaid and an additional $30,000 was expected pursuant to the agreement, but the complaint does not specify whether Fischer was repaying the money.

Fischer stepped down as the longtime executive director of Advocates after being escorted from the organization’s Town of Saukville property in March as suspicions of her wrongdoing trickled from employees to key board members whose handling of the issue sparked upheaval on the board.

Two prominent board members — Ozaukee County Assistant District Attorney Antonella Aleman-Zientek and Ozaukee County Sheriff Christy Knowles — resigned in summer, saying that although they believe strongly in the mission of Advocates they could no longer be associated with an organization whose leaders wanted to handle the alleged thefts internally rather than refer them to authorities for a criminal investigation as should have been and ultimately was done.

In her Aug. 3 resignation letter, Aleman-Zientek referred to a recent board meeting and objected to the $50,000 restitution agreement Advocates reached with Fischer, which she said “involved a third party paying the remaining balance” of $30,000 “in exchange for the organization agreeing that it would not pursue civil claims, would not actively pursue criminal charges and would only cooperate with law enforcement under a warrant request or subpoena.”

Aleman-Zientek went on to write, “I unequivocally objected to this proposed course of action and made my position known. I stated that Advocates of Ozaukee exists to advocate for victims of crime. I cannot reconcile serving on the governing body of an organization whose mission is to advocate for victims while simultaneously engaging in discussions that, in my opinion, seek to influence whether the individual who victimized this very organization is ultimately held criminally accountable.”

Knowles said that when she learned of the alleged thefts, she directed the matter to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, which handled the investigation because Knowles was on the Advocates board at the time. The case is being prosecuted by the Washington County District Attorney’s Office because Aleman-Zientek was on the board.

In response to a voice message left by Ozaukee Press for Advocates Board President Kate Bechen in August, when the paper began reporting on the alleged thefts, Bechen wrote in an email, “The board of Advocates is actively engaged in confidential discussions on legal and personnel matters that we are unable to share at this time.”

Bechen did not respond to questions this week but forwarded a letter she wrote to Advocates donors on Sept. 9.

“We took the matter seriously from the moment it was discovered,” she wrote, noting Fischer was placed on administrative leave after an internal review was initiated and resigned a short time later. “Advocates reported the matter to law enforcement, provided information regarding the unauthorized charges and has remained in communication with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the Washington County District Attorney’s Office throughout the investigation.”

Advocates has recovered all the money in question, Bechen wrote.

Fischer did not return a message left for her in August.

According to the complaint, Washington County Sheriff’s Office Detective James Frankow began investigating the alleged thefts on April 6 and was told by Kristen Nicholson, who was the associate director of Advocates under Fischer and is now listed on its website as executive director, that she became aware of suspicious charges on the organization’s credit card issued to Fischer on March 26 and confronted her.

Nicholson said Fischer minimized her actions, saying she may have duplicated an order, and apologized, adding she had “lost her way this last year” and would stop the spending, the complaint states.

But when the extent of the suspicious spending began to appear more extensive than first suspected — $6,000 over the preceding five months — Nicholson, along with another employee, confronted Fischer again, telling her they would need to report it to the Advocates Board of Directors.

Nicholson told Frankow that Fischer begged them not to inform the board, saying she would go to jail, and threatened to kill herself, according to the complaint. Fischer was then escorted from the property.

Nicholson said she was subsequently informed by Fischer’s daughter that Fischer had been hospitalized following a suspected suicide attempt and that her husband called and asked that the matter not be disclosed to the Advocates board, the complaint states.

Frankow compiled records that identified 186 suspicious transactions beginning in 2024 and continuing through the first part of 2026. Several of those purchases for items such as household goods, personal items and pet products were made from stores that included Amazon, Costco and Instacart and shipped directly to Fischer’s Glendale home, according to the complaint.

Frankow noted that Fischer documented several of the purchases with the notation “missing receipt” and that others were coded as “shelter supplies,” “shelter groceries” and “client assistance.” Frankow said he noticed a pattern of commingling legitimate purchases with personal ones, making the detection of suspicious transactions more difficult, the complaint states.

Nicholson said one suspicious transaction occurred when she asked Fischer to pick up medication for her dogs in August 2025. Nicholson said she transferred $85 to Fischer via Venmo to reimburse her for the medication, which Fischer kept despite the fact she charged the purchase to the Advocates credit card and on a missing receipt form coded the transaction as “client assistance,” according to the complaint.

On April 14, Frankow was notified that Fischer returned multiple items to the Advocates shelter via a shipping service. Those items included office supplies, household items and electronics such as laptop computers, a printer and headphones, the complaint states.

A day later, investigators met with Fischer, who admitted using her Advocates credit card to buy things for herself, specifically patio furniture and garage storage cabinets, which were found at her home, as well as a $3,413 Heartland Collection bedroom set for her daughter, who Fischer said was unaware it had been bought using the Advocates credit card. Fischer said that while making legitimate purchases for Advocates, she would “add some stuff on” — primarily household items — for herself, adding she did not recall all the unauthorized purchases she made but that they likely totaled thousands of dollars, according to the complaint. 

Fischer attributed her actions, in part, to ongoing mental health issues, including depression and anxiety, and said she made the unauthorized purchases during a period of emotional distress.

Fischer is scheduled to make her initial court appearance before Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Steve Cain on Dec. 14.

Advocates of Ozaukee County receives funding from multiple sources including Ozaukee County, which this year gave it $53,625 and has budgeted the same amount for next year.