Tara Moore was arrested at her Point Loma residence after San Diego police served a search warrant on her 3619 Plumosa Drive home on Sept. 14. Moore, 39, was arrested on suspicion of grand theft following a lengthy investigation of embezzlement totaling more than $3 million from Jack’s La Jolla, a former three-level restaurant and nightclub that was shut down in August 2009, likely as a direct result of the theft, said police. “It was critical to their decision to close down because they ran out of money and were unable to pay bills,” said Lt. James Filley of the SDPD Economic Crimes Unit. “We’ve been examining bank accounts and other information provided by the business over the past year.” Moore, the former bookkeeper at Jack’s, was a suspect from the beginning and is the only suspect at this time, said Filley. The investigation revealed that a variety of accounts were used to funnel funds from the nightclub, which ultimately led to a search warrant on Moore’s home. There, police seized more than $400,000 in antiques, furniture, paintings, exotic Italian silk curtains and other items that were reportedly purchased with funds embezzled from the former La Jolla establishment. In an arraignment on Sept. 16, Moore pleaded not guilty to three counts of grand theft and filing false documents involving the restaurant. She also denied embezzlement from another business called David Robinson Design in a fourth charge. Her defense attorney, Paul Pfingst, a former San Diego County district attorney, produced financial records at Moore’s arraignment that included a signed repayment agreement between Moore and the restaurant owner, Bill Berkley, showing Berkley agreed to pay Moore back for loans she gave him to pay restaurant employees. It was dated May 15, 2009. According to these records, Moore repeatedly paid the restaurant workers while the restaurant had a cash-flow problem. In statements filed by Pfingst, former workers said Berkley wrote checks that often bounced and confirmed that Moore was helping him by paying workers herself. “We have a signed written agreement from the so-called victim saying that the money she took out was authorized and was appropriate and that it was owed,” Pfingst told reporters outside the courtroom. “Mr. Berkley acknowledged the debt to Ms. Moore. She was well known to be supporting the business. The prosecution was unaware of these witnesses.” Moore declared bankruptcy in 2009 and lost money as well in the restaurant venture, said Pfingst. Deputy District Attorney Bill Mitchell said the arrest came following the investigation by San Diego Police that involved detailed analysis of bank records. “She was loaning the victim his own money back” said Mitchell. Her bail had been set at $2.5 million according to a bail schedule said the prosecutor, urging San Diego Superior Court Judge David Szumowski to keep the bail figure high for what Mitchell called “an aggravated white collar crime.” The bail was reduced to $400,000 on Sept. 16 and Moore was released that night after her family posted the bond, Pfingst said. A preliminary hearing was set for Oct. 3.