A former San Bruno firefighter who was found guilty of embezzling money from a bank account used for the fire department's annual toy drive was sentenced to three years of probation Monday afternoon, according to San Mateo County prosecutors. Holly Kaye Nelson, a 54-year-old resident of Cloverdale, took $25,583 between Jan. 2015 and Oct. 2016, according to District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe, and later said she had done so out of frustration with being mistreated and bullied as a female firefighter.
"We think that was made up," Wagstaffe said. "We never had any verification of that. For us that's not a legal defense to the charges of embezzlement."