(Atlantic, Iowa) – A woman from Cass County was arrested Sunday on a Cass County warrant charging her with Felony Theft in the 1^st Degree. Rebecca Jean Dreager, age 44, was being held in the Cass County Jail on a $20,000 cash or surety bond. A criminal complaint was filed on April 11^th. Dreager served as the Secretary/Treasurer for the Cass County Chapter of Pheasants Forever. She allegedly used Pheasants Forever funds amounting to more than $18,284 for her personal use.

According to court documents, between the approximate dates of February 26, 2021 and June 3, 2022, Pheasants Forever representatives reported that during that time, a large number of transactions were made that were not made at normal times of spending and were not consistent with the amounts normally spent. Dreager had not turned in receipts for the transactions to support the purchases. Organization representatives said they had made many attempts to gather information from Dreager, and provided law enforcement with a copy of a letter that was sent to her, requesting receipts and additional information. She failed to respond to the request.

It is alleged that the transactions she made with four different entities were paid for by checks written on the Pheasants Forever account. Most of the transactions were for what appeared to be groceries, clothing, household goods, and a large number of gift cards. Pheasants Forever representatives examined the receipts and determined that most of the purchases were not for the local Chapter. They also identified receipts that were consistent with items that would be used for their events and that were in the time frame in which those events took place.

In an interview with Rebecca Dreager, she reporedly identified transactions she claimed were for items related to the organization, and furthermore acknowledged that a large number of transactions were for personal items and not for the Chapter. She said in the interview, that she thought she would be able to pay the money back, and that the spending got out of hand. She said she didn’t realize how much of the organization’s money she had spent.

Dreager remained held in the Cass County Jail pending a court appearance, as of the latest on-line court information.