Former Chicagoland Nonprofit Executive Pleads Guilty in $1.8M Fraud Scheme
The Scheme
A former executive of a Chicagoland non-profit, Barbara Harris, 55, from Matteson, has pleaded guilty to her role in an alleged fraud scheme that resulted in $1.8 million in losses for the Illinois Department of Education.
The Plea Agreement
In a plea agreement, Harris stated that while serving as the Executive Director of the Center for Community Academic Success Partnerships (CCASP) between 2012 and 2017, she allegedly misappropriated nearly $2 million that was intended to support the charity’s work with underprivileged youth.
The Scheme Unfolds
At the time of the scheme, the CCASP was receiving government grants and other funds to provide after-school programs to schools in the Chicago area. Harris and another CCASP executive, Tony Bell, allegedly schemed to submit grant applications that inflated the organization’s projected annual expenses and falsely claimed that five subcontractors would provide services to the CCASP when in reality she knew the subcontractors provided no actual services to the organization.
The Consequences
The scheme resulted in approximately $1.8 million in actual loss to the Illinois Department of Education. Bell, the second CCASP executive accused in the scheme, pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy, money laundering, and wire fraud and is currently awaiting trial.
A Second Scheme
In addition to the subcontractor scheme, Harris admitted in her plea agreement that she participated in a separate fraud scheme that bilked the federally funded AmeriCorps VISTA program, which awarded grants to non-profit organizations working to bring communities out of poverty, between 2021 and 2023.
The Second Scheme Unfolds
Harris, who was serving as Co-Executive Director of the non-profit South Suburban Community Services, allegedly submitted grant applications that falsely represented that VISTA members would work for SSCS developing programs that aimed to bring economic opportunities to the city’s south suburbs. In reality, prosecutors said Harris knew that the VISTA members would actually be used at SSCS to support already-funded job training and after-school violence prevention programs, and fraudulently obtained approval for eleven members to work at SSCS. None of the members performed services in accordance with their VISTA assignment descriptions, causing a $98,699 loss to the VISTA program.
Conclusion
Harris is set to appear in court for sentencing on July 11, 2025, and could face up to 20 years in federal prison.
FAQs
* What was the alleged fraud scheme?
+ Harris and Bell allegedly submitted grant applications that inflated the organization’s projected annual expenses and falsely claimed that five subcontractors would provide services to the CCASP.
* How much was lost in the scheme?
+ The scheme resulted in approximately $1.8 million in actual loss to the Illinois Department of Education.
* What was the second scheme?
+ Harris allegedly submitted grant applications that falsely represented that VISTA members would work for SSCS developing programs that aimed to bring economic opportunities to the city’s south suburbs.
* How much was lost in the second scheme?
+ The scheme caused a $98,699 loss to the VISTA program.
