Two executives of a south suburban nonprofit established to help underprivileged youth are accused of misappropriating more than $1.8 million in federal funds, according to an indictment.
Some of the money obtained through a program administered by the Illinois State Board of Education was used to pay off credit card bills, according to the indictment, returned Monday.
Tony Bell, 61, of Matteson, and Barbara Harris, 52, of South Holland, are charged with conspiracy, money laundering, and wire fraud, according to the indictment.
Bell was executive director of the Center For Community Academic Success Partnerships, and Harris was a project manager, according to the indictment. The nonprofit’s website indicated it is based in South Holland and was created in 2007 to address problems of juvenile delinquency in Chicago’s poorest communities.
The center received government grants and other funds to provide after-school programs, and from January 2012 through April 2017 Bell and Harris received and misappropriated at least $1.8 million in federal funds, according to the indictment.
Bell, Harris and their associates allegedly transferred about $1.3 million of the funds to bank accounts they controlled, and about $436,000 was used to pay off Bell’s credit card bills, according to the indictment.
Also, bank accounts were opened in the names of fictitious subcontractors to the center, with Bell controlling the accounts, according to the indictment.
Another $130,000 of the initial $1.3 million was used to write checks to the phony subcontractors, with the funds subsequently used to make credit card payments or withdrawn as cash, according to the indictment.
Some of that money was also used to purchase money orders at a currency exchange in Dolton, according to the indictment.
Arraignments for Bell and Harris had not yet been scheduled, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
