Heads of Foodbank of Southern California accused of misusing funds for personal financial gain
California officials sued the
Foodbank of Southern California
, alleging that the nonprofit and a dozen of its leaders misused state and federal funds for their own gain, including home renovations, a Tesla and a church billboard.
The Long Beach-based food bank closed last October after the Department of Social Services investigated allegations against the nonprofit's former CEO, Jeanne Cooper.
"The Foodbank of Southern California has fully investigated the allegations involving former CEO, Jeanne Cooper, both through internal and external investigations," current CEO Brian Weaver, who is also named in the lawsuit, said last October. "When these allegations were first brought to the attention of our board, we took them extremely seriously and immediately conducted an internal investigation, suspending Ms. Cooper pending the outcome."
The Foodbank of Southern California, which opened in 1975, serves low-income neighborhoods across Los Angeles County, including Compton, San Pedro, Antelope Valley and North Long Beach. According to the nonprofit's website, it earned awards for its "sound fiscal management and commitment to accountability and transparency." However, for at least the last decade, the leaders of the nonprofit have diverted roughly $11 million of state and federal funds.
"Unbeknownst to the Department, for at least the last decade, the Foodbank's officers, directors, and vendors worked together to divert millions of dollars of state and federal funds away from these most vulnerable communities, into their own pockets," state attorneys wrote in their complaint against the nonprofit.
The lawsuit named 12 members of the Foodbank's board, including Cooper, Weaver, Alice "Sweet Alice" Harris and Michael Barrett. Cooper's spouse Lamarr Ramsey was also named as a defendant. However, he never worked for the nonprofit, according to the legal complaint.
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