RICHMOND, Va. — A Richmond homeless shelter operator facing a federal fraud charge and accused of embezzlement was already on the government's radar for a failure to pay taxes prior to the city giving her organization nearly $1 million in taxpayer dollars to provide shelter services.
As CBS 6 previously reported, court records showed Kia Player of RVA Sisters Keeper submitted an application to the city in 2022, seeking funding to operate an inclement weather shelter. At the time of her application, RVA Sisters Keeper was not registered as a legitimate organization with the State Corporation Commission or as a 501(c)(3).
Despite this, the city council signed off on giving the organization $995,000 for shelter operations.
"It didn’t seem like anybody. Just somebody off the street said, ‘I’m going to open up a shelter,’ and city gives them a million dollars," said Rhona Sneed, an advocate for the homeless, about the city's decision to give RVA Sisters Keeper funding at the time.
Federal prosecutors have now charged Player with wire fraud and accused her of embezzlement and submitting fake invoices to the city.
Court records allege Player falsified $170,000 in bills for meals through a made-up catering business. Prosecutors said she further forged invoices for services for laundry, pest control, cleaning, and $48,000 in contractor work that was never performed.
She's also accused of funneling an additional $68,000 to her own business and bank accounts.
“It's heart wrenching every day to see this every day, and for money be given to you, and you just abuse it for your own purposes? While people suffer every day? Nah," Sneed said.
A city spokesperson previously explained that when it selected its 2022-2023 inclement weather shelter providers, it did not receive a large number of applications from people who were willing and able to provide such challenging services.
But information available through publicly available records is raising questions about the city's vetting practices.
Court filings show the state and federal governments took collections against Player for multiple unpaid tax balances before she sought funding from the city in 2022.
In 2018, the Virginia Department of Taxation filed a memorandum of lien for unpaid taxes that totaled $5,578. No document indicated the lien had been released was filed in court as of Monday.
In 2019, a judgement of $46,752 was entered against Player and one other person in Hanover Circuit Court. In that case, Player signed a confession note, but it's unclear what the debt was for.
Then in 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) filed a notice of federal tax lien for unpaid taxes that totaled $77,793. No documentation indicated that lien had been released was filed in court as of Monday.
According to government tax agencies, liens are a matter of public record and can adversely affect someone's ability to get credit, buy a home or a car, or get a job.
CBS 6 reached out to City Council President Cynthia Newbille asking if the council was aware of these tax issues before it approved the funding, and we have not heard back. We also reached out to a city spokesperson asking the same and are still waiting for a response.
A City Hall spokesperson previously said the city is now "focused more heavily on identifying long established shelter providers to support inclement weather shelter needs."
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