Former exec charged with stealing $85G from nonprofit
The former executive director of a Philadelphia nonprofit that serves needy residents was charged with fraud Wednesday for allegedly stealing more than $85,000 from the group's bank accounts between January 2007 and October 2013.
The former executive director of a Philadelphia nonprofit that serves needy residents was charged with fraud Wednesday for allegedly stealing more than $85,000 from the group's bank accounts between January 2007 and October 2013.
An indictment unsealed by the U.S. Attorney's Office said Rodnell Griffin, 67, used ATM cards to withdraw money 500 times from Hunting Park Neighborhood Advisory Committee coffers, including 10 instances at ATM machines inside SugarHouse Casino. A woman who answered the phone Wednesday at Hunting Park NAC said Griffin no longer worked there.
The nonprofit near Erie Avenue and Delhi Street has received grants through the years from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. It also is among 18 NACs in Philadelphia that receive, on average, up to $70,000 a year in federal grants disbursed by the Philadelphia Office of Housing and Community Development, said OHCD spokesman Paul Chrystie.
If convicted of wire fraud, Griffin could be sentenced to up to 37 months in prison. - Maria Panaritis