CEO Charged With Embezzling Over $5M From The Painted Turtle Camp for Children With Serious Medical Conditions

on January 12, 2026

The former CEO of a Southern California nonprofit camp for children with serious medical conditions has been charged with embezzling more than $5 million from the organization, prosecutors said.

Christopher LeBaron Butler, 49, is charged with 15 felony counts, including nine counts of grand theft, five counts of forgery and one count of fraudulent use of a computer, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. 

Between 2018 and 2025, Butler served as CEO of The Painted Turtle, which operates a camp in Lake Hughes and advertises itself as “a place where children with serious medical conditions can just be kids. Totally free of charge.”

During his tenure, he embezzled $5.2 million, the DA’s office alleges.

“Abusing a position of power to steal funds from a camp dedicated to helping children with serious medical conditions is an affront to both the law and our deepest values,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said. “My message is crystal clear: If you steal from the most vulnerable members of our community or the organizations that serve them, this office will use every tool the law allows to hold you fully accountable.”

Butler is being held on $835,000 bail. His arraignment is scheduled for Thursday.

The Painted Turtle Camp was co-founded by actor Paul Newman and philanthropists Lou and Page Adler and opened in 2004. It was inspired by Newman’s Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, founded in 1988 in Connecticut, which also serves children with serious illnesses and their families.

The Painted Turtle is part of the SeriousFun Children’s Network, a global community of 30 camps and programs designed to empower children to see beyond their medical conditions, according to the organization.

His arraignment is set for Jan. 15 in Department 30 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.

If convicted as charged, Butler faces more than 18 years in state prison.

This case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Steve Dickman of the White Collar Crime Division and remains under investigation by the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation.

Charges

California Penal Code 487(A)

Forgery CPC 475

Fraudulent Use of a Computer - CPC 502