By Don Keelan

Christine Allen, of Marlboro, NH., was selected earlier this year by the board of trustees of Turning Point of Windham County, VT, to lead their agency as its executive director. Little did they know (or should have known) what was to follow.

Chris Mays of Vermont News & Media wrote on November 10, 2024, “Former Turning Point director indicted for stealing from New Hampshire nonprofit.” 

Mays notes that Allen allegedly embezzled $200,000 from the NH-based nonprofit Monadnock Peer Support, where she was the executive director before joining Turning Point.

MPS mission notes on its website that it “provides mental health support for individuals seeking wellness through a mutually supportive peer community.” MPS’s financial standing should have been mentioned but was not.

According to GuideStar’s 2023 Form 990 filing by MPS, the organization has 32 employees and net assets (net worth) of $674,000. This amount is the net difference between the organization’s assets less its liabilities. The amount allegedly stolen is close to 30% of the organization’s net wealth and a real threat to its survival. The emotional and financial impact is reminiscent of what occurred at Hunger Free Vermont in 2016 when VTDigger reported the nonprofit’s loss from embezzlement of $165,000.

Nonprofit organizations are the low-hanging fruit for would-be embezzlers. Many do not have sophisticated accounting controls, and they are absorbed in trusting all who are employed. However, they are not alone. 

According to the Vermont Auditor’s website on Embezzlement 2019, the story is much the same. From 2004 to 2019, there were 24 adjudicated embezzlements at state and local municipalities, ranging from $1,000 upwards to $490,000, totaling $2,397,000.

What is notable from examining the State Auditor’s report is how long several of the embezzlements went on. The $10,000 plus stolen from Waitsfield Elementary occurred from 1999 until it was discovered in 2012. The $490,000 stolen from the State’s Department of Children & Families and the $400,000 plus from the Town of Ira went on for over six years. 

Another noteworthy aspect of the State’s report was that many convicted embezzlers received deferred or suspended sentences. The DCF and Ira perpetrators received 33 months and 27 months in prison. 

One would assume that the highest “hanging fruit” for potential embezzlers to take would be commercial enterprises, and therefore, it is not an easy task to pull off. Not so.  Recent events reported by Mike Donohue of Vermont News First and Vermont Business Magazine noted on October 4, 2024, the rash of embezzlements that have taken place at several Vermont auto dealerships ranging from $191,000, $600,000 and $144,000.

I can only imagine the soul-searching that must be taking place at the Monadnock Peer Support Center and Turning Point of Windham County over their misplaced trust in Ms. Allen. According to GuideStar’s 2022 Form 990 for MPS, she was paid $69,769. Considering what has occurred, it was not enough. 

If it helps at all, the trustees are not alone. Over the last two decades, Vermont organizations have reported a rash of embezzlements—and many, I suppose, not reported due to the bad publicity it could bring upon the organization.

What needs to take place is for organizations to continue to exercise trust with their financial personnel but add the internal control of verifying. It will also help organizations to bring to their board members who have a background in financial matters and are responsible for overseeing the organization’s financial reporting and staff. 

It also helps to remember that cash is to an organization, a nonprofit, a business, or a government agency what blood is to the body. You cannot afford to let it bleed out. The Fiscal Year 2023 Form 990 for MPS showed a cash balance of $117,966.

When it comes to embezzlement, whether it involves a commercial, nonprofit, religious (and there have been a few),  municipal, or government agencies, the financial impact on the entity can be quantified. 

What is most difficult to measure is the hidden cost and the emotional impact on those working at the targeted organization. It is devastating to place your trust in someone whom you have dwelt with day in and day out for years only to find out that person was stealing from you or your organization. 

Embezzlement will continue, but if internal controls are adopted with an emphasis on verification, it might be curtailed.