Former Catholic Charities employees steal $1.7M, group states
Police were notified of the alleged theft in May
By James Stratton
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MILWAUKEE (WISN) — Sharing some “difficult news” with donors in an email on Dec. 16, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee says investigators uncovered roughly $1.7 million in fraud.
Recently unsealed search warrants, obtained by 12 News Investigates, say Catholic Charities’ former finance director was “… stealing money from the nonprofit by fabricating ‘vendors’ and paying them with official checks.”
Police were notified of the alleged theft in May, the search warrants state. Then, investigators estimated the loss was more than $800,000. After months of investigating it is estimated to be roughly $1.7 million, according to the charity.
“The final amounts involved in this fraud will be known after law enforcement’s investigation,” said Very Rev. David H. Reith in an email to donors. “For fiscal years 2023 and 2024, when it appears the fraud was most active, anticipated losses are approximately $1.7 million.”
The theft dates back to 2016, according to the search warrants. It involved seven people in total, including employees and former employees. Catholic Charities says it fired those who were employed at the time.
The group’s then finance director, the search warrants state, created fake invoices, vendor names, and services to pay six others.
Reith told donors in the email that no programs or services were affected.
“Catholic Charities and its Board of Trustees has taken several important steps to understand how this happened and to strengthen the organization,” Reith said. “For example, the Board of Trustees commissioned several independent investigations into this matter. These investigations determined that no current employees were involved or aware of the fraud and that the scheme happened over several years but became bolder in recent years.”
Reith said the charity has made changes by hiring an interim finance leader who has a background in nonprofit finance and internal controls, changing auditing firms, and improving its internal processes.
The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office said the investigation has been turned over to federal prosecutors. The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment, per policy. None of the people named in the search warrants have been charged, so 12 News is not naming them.
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