Reports: Investigations

A hotline complainant reported that Senior Resources of Guilford (SRG), Greensboro, NC, officials fraudulently claimed that the Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) Project Director worked a percentage of her time on the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), for which the grantee sought reimbursement.

CNCS management reported possible fraud involving RSVP grantee TCU Community Partnership Inc. (TCU), Conyers, GA, after its management drew down $20,750 of Federal grant funds and failed to enroll any volunteers and fulfill the terms and conditions of the grant.

CNCS-OIG completed its investigation into Hotline allegations that AmeriCorps members assigned to the Martha O'Bryan Center (MOBC), Nashville, TN, a subgrantee of the Volunteer Tennessee (Commission), Nashville, TN, may have engaged in prohibited activities.

This investigation was initiated based on a Hotline allegation that Ms. Meghan Olinger, former AmeriCorps Program Coordinator, Synergy, Education, and Empowerment of West Monroe (SEE), West Monroe, LA, falsely certified education awards for members who had not completed their service hours over the course of her tenure at SEE.

This investigation was initiated based on a hotline allegation concerning a VISTA member who may have engaged in political activities as part of his VISTA service.

Acting on a Hotline complaint, CNCS-OIG investigators determined that VISTA participants at Community in Schools of Hernando County (CIS-Hernando), Brooksville, FL, were assigned direct service tasks beyond the scope of the grant, and displaced employees by performing staff functions.

A compliance review discovered that grantee Mid-Delta Community Consortium (MDCC), West Helena, AR, assigned AmeriCorps members a variety of tasks that were beyond the scope of its grant from the Arkansas Service Commission.

CNCS management asked CNCS-OIG to investigate an AmeriCorps member serving at the Nevada Clean Energy Corps, Carson City, NV, who was suspended after a completed criminal history check revealed him to be a registered sex offender.

A joint investigation with PennSERVE: The Governor’s Office of Citizen Service, Harrisburg, PA, found that Communities in Schools of Pennsylvania (CISPA), Harrisburg, PA, failed to conduct critical criminal history checks (CHCs) and falsely certified to CNCS that it was in compliance with all CHC requirements during a Corporation-wide assessment and amnesty.

Alerted to allegations that Senior Corps grantee Great Lake Inter-Tribal Council, Lac du Flambeau, WI, misused program funds, CNCS-OIG investigators conducted a review in conjunction with an agency grant officer and a program officer. This joint review found that the grantee had abused the funds awarded by CNCS in multiple ways.