HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. — The Hernando County Sheriff's Office said Thursday that the former director of a Hernando County animal shelter and her husband face fraud charges.

Susana Maria Arneson and Douglas Paul O’Berry are in custody.

Sheriff Al Nienhuis announced the arrests at a morning news conference. (Watch the entire news conference below.)

The sheriff said a multi-week investigation called "Operation Heartless" led to the arrests.

The couple has also been charged with money laundering and grand larceny, Nienhuis said.

Susana Maria Arneson and Douglas Paul O’Berry are in custody. (Photos provided by Hernando County Sheriff's Office)

Arneson is accused of taking money from the Humane Society of the Nature Coast and using it for personal reasons.

The couple is accused of laundering more than $1.5 million and purchasing a boat, vehicles and a house.

One investigator said he had never seen anything like this case.

“It’s very much a shock and it’s going to be for a lot of people to see what was done,” said Detective Jason Tippin. “And when everything comes out, how it was done and even knowing that the Humane Society put checks and balances in place, and unfortunately she found ways to circumvent that.”

The sheriff said the investigation started when the board noticed its accounts were not adding up.

Spectrum Bay News 9’s Katya Gullaume spoke to the current Humane Society director, who said this was the last thing she ever expected to happen.

The couple is being held under $750,000 bond.