{"id":170808,"date":"2023-09-29T03:41:57","date_gmt":"2023-09-29T08:41:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=170808"},"modified":"2023-09-29T03:42:39","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T08:42:39","slug":"ag-oversight-needed-in-charitable-sector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2023\/09\/29\/ag-oversight-needed-in-charitable-sector\/","title":{"rendered":"AG: oversight needed in charitable sector"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Submitted information<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WELLSTON \u2013 A Wellston, Ohio woman who stole charitable funds from a local booster club was sentenced Wednesday to one year of community control and will repay the more than $9,000 that she took, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Jackson County Prosecutor Randy Dupree announced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melanie Stanley had originally faced a fourth-degree felony charge of grand theft for misusing funds from the Wellston City School District\u2019s volleyball booster program, The Spike Club (formerly the Wellston Match Point Club). In early June, though, Judge Christopher Regan of Jackson County Common Pleas Court accepted Stanley\u2019s guilty plea to a lesser charge of misdemeanor theft after Stanley agreed to pay back the stolen money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dave Yost<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe stole from the team and abused the trust of parents,\u201d Yost said. \u201cNo matter how big or small the organization, thieves looking to set themselves up with charitable funds need to know that they\u2019re playing a losing game.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Attorney General\u2019s Charitable Law Section helped the Wellston Police Department investigate the case after booster club volunteers reported discrepancies in the nonprofit\u2019s accounts to the police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The volunteers said Stanley was the only officer with access to the accounts, and that she had used the charitable funds to make large personal purchases and issue checks to family members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust as good teamwork can lead to victory, keen oversight can assure charitable dollars serve their intended purpose,\u201d said Jackson County Prosecutor Randy Dupree. \u201cWe\u2019re grateful for the collaborative investigation to put the money back in the hands of the booster club where it belongs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attorney General Yost said the case highlights the need for oversight in the charitable sector, noting how a passive board of directors and poor internal controls can spell disaster for a charity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coinciding with the adjudication of the Jackson County case, Yost also announced that four new web-based trainings are available under the office\u2019s Charitable University platform (Charitable U.), which launched in January:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n