Continued ‘Culture of Corruption’ at Domestic Abuse Shelters
Coalition to End Domestic Violence
March 27, 2024
Over the past 25 years, abuse shelter managers have engaged in numerous instances of fiscal mismanagement and embezzlement. The CEDV report, Accountability and Oversight of Federally-Funded
Domestic Violence Programs, documents 16 instances of fraud from 1998 to 2020.
Such fraudulent activities have continued to the present time, as revealed by these seven cases:
Bookkeeper for domestic violence shelter pleads guilty in $300,000 embezzlement scheme
March 26, 2024
A woman pleaded guilty Tuesday in Tulsa federal court to tax evasion and bank fraud linked to the embezzlement of nearly $300,000 from a now-closed Bartlesville domestic violence shelter.
Ex-CEO of Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence arrested
September 20, 2023
Tiffany Carr and others are accused of padding the books at the defunct taxpayer-funded organization to compensate themselves.
July 29, 2023
The former director of an embattled Hells Kitchen domestic violence shelter spent the facility’s cash on pricey dinners and luxe shopping sprees, according to court papers.
At least $60,000 has gone missing under Deborah Pollock’s watch, claim the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, who opened the Dwelling Place in 1977 — but were hauled into court last week after they abruptly shuttered the facility.
June 23, 2023
On June 22, 2023, the former Executive Director of a nonprofit organization called the Riverside County Coalition for Alternatives to Domestic Violence (ADV) that receives federal grant funds in Riverside, California, was charged following an amended criminal Complaint with three counts of grand theft and one count of falsification of records.
Bookkeeper theft prompts changes at Oasis Safe Haven
February 4, 2023
Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) – Oasis Safe Haven provides shelter for women who have been abused and need to get out of danger. It’s been a favorite for those wishing to donate to a worthy cause. …
Boudreaux pleaded guilty to theft over $25,000, but investigators concluded the theft was closer to $200,000.
September 28, 2022
CINCINNATI – The former bookkeeper of My Sister’s House, a now-shuttered domestic violence shelter in Washington Court House, Ohio, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 12 months in prison for crimes related to stealing funds from the shelter. [employee stole more than $50,000]
October 26, 2021
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis sentenced Glenda Hodges, age 72, of Clinton, Maryland, yesterday to two years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after Hodges pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, in connection with the misuse of federal funds, and other fraud related to non-profit and for-profit entities that Hodges operated, and additional fraud committed while Hodges was on pretrial release for the wire fraud charges.
Culture of Corruption
There’s nothing new about these actions. Domestic violence advocates have engaged in fraudulent behavior for years. In 1993, for example, they promoted a story that “domestic violence spikes on Super Bowl Sunday.” However, when scholars tried to find the source for this claim, they discovered the claim was simply made-up.