RICHMOND, Va. — A fraud prevention expert said the case involving an organizer who admitted to stealing government funds meant for a Richmond homeless shelter was likely preventable with a little more vetting from the city.
Earlier this week, Kia Player pleaded guilty in federal court to defrauding the City of Richmond out of nearly $200,000 after prosecutors said she embezzled money designated for the operations of an inclement weather shelter that served homeless women and children in 2022-2023.
According to a statement of facts filed in court, Player submitted fake invoices to the city for alleged shelter services such as catering, laundry, pest control, cleaning, and contractor work that either never happened or were inflated.
Court records showed she additionally funneled $68,000 into her own bank accounts and used those fraudulent proceeds to buy flights, a luxury Caribbean ferry ride, and to shop at several stores.
The scheme has raised questions about how Player's organization was awarded taxpayer dollars in the first place, especially since some stakeholders who serve the homeless had not heard of the organization before and Player's partner told the city council they did not have prior experience working directly with the homeless population.
“So where did Sister Keepers come from? Who referred them to the city? Who recommended, who okayed it? City council okayed it. Did anybody investigate this?” said advocate Rhonda Sneed of Blessing Warriors RVA.
Court filings state RVA Sisters Keeper was not registered as a 501(c)(3) until four days after Player and another individual applied for the funding in August of 2022.
CBS 6 obtained the application through a public records request. It showed the non-profit did not submit documentation of its latest IRS forms or tax returns, audited financial statements, or its enrollment in the federal vendor registry known as SAM despite the city saying its previous grant application processes often required some of those verifications.
Further, CBS 6 found through a public records search that Player had a history of financial troubles including liens imposed against her for federal and state tax delinquencies before the application was submitted.
Fraud prevention expert Haywood Talcove, CEO of LexisNexis Risk Solutions' Government Division, said that should've indicated a red flag to the city.
“I think it's a pretty good clue, because they owe the government money. Why would the government give them more money?” Talcove said.
The city said it was unaware of a lien because it is “not standard practice to run personal background checks on organization staff or leadership.”
Ultimately, the city council approved giving RVA Sisters Keeper nearly $1 million for the shelter. The bulk of the money consisted of federal pandemic relief funds and a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing.
The Richmond Inspector General's Office, which was involved in investigating the fraud, acknowledged the city's bidding process was "last minute" and the funding was allotted with "minimal accounting or oversight" due to a sense of urgency.
“The government relies on self reported information, and that is the problem," Talcove said.
Talcove argued it takes just seconds to use artificial intelligence and technology sources to provide additional insights into applicants and verify data reported on applications like the private sector routinely does. Those simple steps, he said, could have better protected taxpayer dollars in this case.
“I’d say it was 97% preventable. That if you just use some of those basic tools, and you had followed your process, it would have never happened," he said.
City Hall spokesperson Ross Catrow said moving forward, Richmond is working to strengthen the grantmaking process and will be collaborating with well-established providers when it comes to homeless services.
Council President Cynthia Newbille, who was president in 2022 when the funding was allotted and is currently president now, declined to comment to ensure "the integrity of the investigative and judicial process."
CBS 6 also checked in with surrounding counties to ask about their vetting practices.
Hanover County
Hanover County said it "rarely passes state or federal grant funds through to another organization." When it does, the county performs a risk assessment, review of financial information, and testing of transactions to confirm funds are spent on the approved purpose.
When Hanover enters a vendor or contractor relationship, it said the county verifies that the vendor is properly licensed and ensured. When federal funds are involved, the county said the vendor must be a participant in the federal vendor registry (SAM) and be in good standing.
The county said an individual background check is not a standard part of every funding action but may be used if the nature of services requires it.
Henrico County
Henrico county said it does not make funding applications available to the broader public as it prefers to work with organizations it is familiar with. If there are new applicants, the county attorney's office would be informed.
The County Manager and a budget committee review all funding recommendations, and the county checks the IRS' list of nonprofit organizations to make sure groups are in good standing. Applicants are instructed to provide financial reports and organizational data.
Henrico said it does not routinely perform background checks on applicants.
Chesterfield County
Chesterfield said any entity seeking community agency funding is financially vetted. Groups requesting more than $50,000 must provide a copy of their audited financial statements. Groups requesting less than $50,000 must provide other documentation such as a 990 form.
The county said these requirements are included in its financial policies, and it does not usually run criminal background checks on applicants.
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