A former employee of the Allen Parish Community Action Agency is accused of taking thousands of dollars from a cookie dough fundraiser, according to a recent audit.
The audit conducted by Kolder, Slaven and Company, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019, found that an employee of the agency’s Kinder Headstart Center took $2,300 from a fundraiser. The employee, who had worked for the agency for more than 15 years, was not identified in the audit or by the agency.
Restitution has not been made and the employee is no longer employed by the agency, according to the audit.
The agency launched an internal investigation after receiving complaints from parents who did not receive items ordered through a class fundraiser, the audit stated.
Executive Director Lyndon Livingston said the agency became aware of the problem after the orders did not match the money brought in from the fundraiser.
The agency did not report the theft to officials until 10 months after learning of the misappropriation.
“We did not notify anyone immediately because we wanted to make sure we had all the pieces in place,” Livingston said. “We had to review the orders and timelines, so that took awhile. None of the money taken was agency money. It was parent money from the fundraiser.”
The agency also looked at fundraisers from the last two to three years to ensure that no other problems had occurred, Livingston said.
According to the audit, the agency learned of the misappropriation of fundraiser collections in December 2018, but did not notify the Legislative Auditor’s Office or the Allen Parish District Attorney’s Office until October 2019. State law requires an agency head who has “knowledge of or reasonable cause to believe” that there has been a misappropriation of public funds or assets to notify the legislative auditor and the district attorney.
According to the audit, management misinterpreted the time requirements.
In responding to the audit finding, the agency says it will timely notify the legislative auditor and district attorney of any future misappropriations.
In addition, Livingston said the agency will pay more “special attention” to fundraisers and continue to monitor its internal controls to ensure that future problems do not occur.
The agency did not file a police report.
Allen Parish District Attorney H. Todd Nesom, 33rd district, said he has spoken with Livingston and plans to interview the individual involved in this case. After learning of the incident, Nesom asked Livinston to send him a letter with the specifics. Nesom plans to complete the interview soon.
“After I review it, I will determine how I will handle the case,” Nesom said. He said the review should take a few more weeks to complete.
The Community Action Agency provides assistance to low income persons in Allen Parish to include Head Start, weatherization programs and food assistance, to low income persons in Allen Parish.
