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Former Columbus Zoo Executives Indicted for Theft of More Than $2 Million

Three former executives of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium were indicted today for their roles in a scheme to defraud the zoo of more than $2.29 million and use the money for personal benefits, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced today.

“I’m confident that when the allegations are heard in the court of law, the jury will agree that these former executives of the Columbus Zoo extorted, conspired, bribed and stole over $2 million in public funds for their own benefits,” Yost said. “In simple terms, the bank hired the robbers to work security.”

Former Chief Executive Officer Tom Stalf and former Marketing Director Pete Fingerhut are accused of operating a criminal enterprise to hijack the zoo’s purse strings and colluding to conceal their thievery. Also indicted was former Chief Financial Officer Greg Bell, who is alleged to have become ensnared in the wrongdoing.

The indictment alleges that the former executives manipulated credit-card and check authorization forms for more than a decade, using the nonprofit’s public funds for personal use. The Columbus Zoo receives about $19 million in taxes annually from Franklin County residents.

The stolen money was spent on lavish non-zoo related items, including suites and tickets to concerts and sporting events; golf memberships; trips to multiple states and foreign countries; meals, beverages and alcohol; and motor vehicles.

An investigation conducted by the attorney general’s Charitable Law and Antitrust sections, along with the Ohio Auditor’s Office, found that the criminal enterprise not only improperly expensed goods but also bartered, bribed and extorted zoo vendors for goods and services.

In one instance, zoo tickets were exchanged for tickets to Game 6 of the 2016 World Series. On another occasion, Fingerhut is accused of threatening harm to a vendor’s business opportunities with the zoo unless he was paid large sums of cash.

Stalf, Fingerhut and Bell allegedly attempted to conceal their criminal activities by knowingly signing financial authorization forms. In subsequent years, Stalf and Fingerhut filed their state and federal taxes without acknowledging the financial benefits obtained from the criminal enterprise.   

The indictment was filed today in Delaware County Common Pleas Court, as the zoo is located in Delaware County and much of the criminal conduct found by the grand jury took place at the zoo business office.

As the investigation unfolded, Delaware County Prosecuting Attorney Melissa Schiffel appointed the Attorney General’s Office as special prosecutor in the matter, with Senior Assistant Attorney General Dan Kasaris becoming the lead prosecutor. Marissa Gibson and Matt Klapheke, investigators with the Ohio Auditor’s Office, assisted in the case.

“The Columbus Zoo is a jewel and I hope that this investigation will ensure that the zoo will exist for many years to come,” Prosecutor Shiffel said. “Thank you to the Delaware County grand jurors who listened to countless hours of testimony and evidence and returned the indictment that was filed today.”

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AG Ferguson files lawsuit against founder of Vancouver charity for misusing more than $1.2 million meant to serve BIPOC communities

Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced a lawsuit against Vancouver nonprofit Noble Foundation and its founder and executive director, Ophelia Noble, along with foundation directors, and Noble’s family and friends. Ferguson asserts since 2019, Noble misappropriated or failed to account for $1 million in charitable grants the foundation received to serve communities of color in southwest Washington. 

In a lawsuit filed in Clark County Superior Court, Ferguson asserts Noble paid herself hundreds of thousands of dollars from foundation funds, used foundation money to buy vehicles for herself and her mother and directed the foundation to buy her father’s house then resell it to her at a deep discount. The lawsuit names Noble, the Noble Foundation, foundation directors Douglas Noble (Noble’s father), Alice Prejean (Noble’s mother), Alyce Noble, Joann Hampton and Virginia Prioleau. 

Noble’s misconduct includes numerous violations of Washington’s Nonprofit Corporation Act, with potential penalties of up to $5,000 per violation. Ferguson will ask the court to order Noble and her co-defendants to return the diverted money so that it can be directed to an organization that can use it for its intended charitable purposes, dissolve the foundation and bar Noble and her other co-defendants from serving on the boards of any Washington nonprofit in the future. 

“Preying on the generosity of Washingtonians is shameful — and unlawful,” Ferguson said. “We will hold those responsible accountable and work to ensure the diverted money is paid back and directed towards its intended purpose: advancing racial equity and serving communities of color.”

Noble Foundation was founded to serve BIPOC communities

Ophelia Noble started The Noble Foundation in 2012 to serve communities of color in Vancouver, Kelso and Longview. 

In 2019, the foundation expanded rapidly, securing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Washington State Office of Financial Management as part of a state effort to encourage members of undercounted Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities to register for the 2020 Census.

The foundation continued to grow when the pandemic hit. Operating as Our Place/Nuestra Casa Multicultural Center, the foundation provided emergency rent assistance, cash assistance for general household needs, and community education about the dangers of COVID-19 and the importance of vaccinations. It subsequently secured major contracts with counties and the state to facilitate the Treasury Rent Assistance Program and Eviction Rent Assistance Program, disbursing more than $1.3 million on behalf of Clark County and the Washington State Department of Commerce between 2021 and 2023.

As public attention focused more sharply on racial justice and policing issues, the foundation created Southwest Washington Communities United for Change, a tax-exempt social welfare organization. Southwest purportedly focused on organizing protests and trying to increase participation and political representation for BIPOC communities in Clark and Cowlitz counties. Southwest brought in several hundred thousand dollars from grantors interested in establishing a BIPOC-led political organization serving Southwest Washington.

It appears that most of the public dollars received by the foundation and its related entities were spent properly and not misappropriated. However, large grants from private and community foundations, were not subject to the same level of fiscal controls. The nonprofits raised approximately $1.5 million from such foundations including the Northwest Health Foundation, Social Justice Fund Northwest, the Satterberg Foundation, the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington, Group Health/Inatai Foundation and the Seattle Foundation. 

Misappropriations go back years

Beginning in 2019, Noble used her position as executive director to misappropriate large sums of donated charitable funds from the foundation’s accounts. 

The Attorney General’s investigation revealed that Noble and her family received direct, documented payments or benefits of nearly $1 million. Some examples:

  • In July 2021, Noble caused the foundation and Southwest to pay her $355,000 in “back pay,” for “contract services” purportedly provided between 2015 and 2021. There is no evidence that any contracts existed, any money was owed, or that these payments were approved by the entities’ boards.
  • The foundation paid Noble’s consulting company $310,000 for unspecified “executive director services” that were never approved by the board.
  • $200,000 was either withdrawn from the various foundation entities’ bank accounts without explanation or issued to unknown individuals in the form of cashier’s checks. Only Noble and the directors were authorized signers on these accounts.
  • In 2020, Noble directed the foundation to purchase her father’s house for approximately $200,000, but she put her name on the deed as well as the foundation’s. The following year, she paid the foundation $100,000 for its interest in the home. When the foundation transferred title to Noble in 2022, the house was worth at least $324,000, meaning Noble gained $224,000 in equity. There is no evidence the foundation’s board reviewed and approved these transactions, which were clearly a conflict of interest for Noble. 
  • In 2020, Noble used foundation money to purchase a 2019 Nissan Armada, which she used as her personal vehicle. She used foundation funds to make upgrades to the vehicle and cover maintenance and gas. The foundation also purchased a second vehicle, which Noble later transferred to her mother.
  • Noble, her family, and other directors used foundation money to fund over $65,000 in additional purchases that lack a clear connection to the entities’ charitable purposes, including for gift cards, meals, groceries, gas, travel, cell phones, personal clothing, and even alcohol and cigarettes.

Other charity lawsuits

The Legislature identified the Attorney General’s Office as the agency tasked with enforcing the Nonprofit Corporation, Charitable Solicitations and Charitable Trust Acts. These laws ensure that nonprofits and entities that solicit charitable donations or manage charitable assets follow the laws adopted by the Legislature. These laws ensure that funds intended for charity are not misused.

The Attorney General’s Office has three attorneys who specifically focus on charity cases involving the misuse or misappropriation of funds solicited for a charitable purpose.

Recent enforcement actions include:

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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Wood County Prosecuting Attorney Paul Dobson announced today that a Wood County Jury convicted Linda Greene, former CEO of the international charity organization Impact with Hope, on charges of Tampering with Records, Prohibited Acts Involving Charities, Solicitation Fraud, and Aggravated Theft

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Wood County Prosecuting Attorney Paul Dobson announced today that a Wood County Jury convicted Linda Greene, former CEO of the international charity organization Impact with Hope, on charges of Tampering with Records, Prohibited Acts Involving Charities, Solicitation Fraud, and Aggravated Theft. The Tampering and Theft charges are felonies of the third degree, subjecting Greene to potential three years in prison each.  The Solicitation Fraud charge is a second degree felony, exposing her to eight years in prison.  The Prohibited Acts charge is a misdemeanor of the first degree, carrying a six-month jail sentence.

Greene was the founder and CEO of Impact with Hope, formerly ISOH/Impact, which generated large sums of money for international relief as well as the hosting of international children requiring medical attention which they could not receive in their home countries.  The charity maintained “The Lighthouse,” a property in Perrysburg on the Maumee River where Greene lived.  Occasionally, she would host these children at her home.  Greene used charity funds for much of her living expenses, paying for clothing, food, manicures, hair styling, etc. with charity funds.  Greene maintained the property through the same funds, including a pool, pond, meditation garden, and other luxuries.  Investigators testified that Greene paid her personal credit card bills with charity funds and even reimbursed herself for purchases made with the charity’s credit card, causing the charity to pay for the items twice.  The trial testimony demonstrated that Greene took funds which had been donated for specific purposes, such as for the children and for a prospective project called “The Hope Center” and used them for her own purposes.  In total, investigators testified to over $400,000 in funds that Greene had misappropriated.

During the pendency of the case, Greene had been ordered by the court to disassociate herself from the charity.   She had repeatedly been brought back before the court for violations of that order, as she continued to run the charity and solicit funds and services on its behalf.  Ultimately, Greene was jailed by the court on a cash bond for her failure to follow the court orders.  She was also ultimately ordered to vacate The Lighthouse.

In announcing the conviction, Dobson said, “I am extremely proud of the time, effort, and dedication which has been shown by the prosecutors and investigators who have worked so diligently for so long on this case.  I would like to particularly recognize this office’s former Senior Investigator Doug Kinder, former Ohio Attorney General’s Office Senior Charitable Funds Auditor Ashley Clifton, and Ohio Attorney General’s Office Charitable Section Major Case Investigator Conika Brooks for their hours, days, and weeks of pouring through financial documents.  I would also like to recognize former Assistant Prosecutor David Romaker who started the case and Chief Assistant Prosecutor Pamela Gross and Senior Assistant Prosecutor Dexter Phillips who put the case before the jury and brought it to a successful conclusion.  Finally, I want to thank the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Narcotics Intelligence Center for allowing their investigators to take the time necessary to finish their investigation and prepare for their testimony.

“This office has always worked hard to bring to justice those who would diminish the good work of charities everywhere by converting the funds trustingly put in their hands by good-hearted citizens to their own gain.  To use the money of hard-working people to live in the lap of luxury for free and to take even more is indefensible.”

In addition to Prosecutor Dobson, Attorney General Dave Yost commented “This case is the perfect example of why oversight for the charitable sector is imperative, as a passive board and poor internal controls can be a disaster for a charity,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said. “We’re proud to partner with the Wood County Prosecutor’s Office and the Ohio Department of Public Safety to bring justice and stop this woman from lining her own pockets.”

Sentencing has been set for October 12 at 9:00 am before Wood County Common Pleas Judge Joel Kuhlman.  In the meantime, Greene remains free on bond.  The orders for her to have no contact with the charity remain in force.

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AG Yost Makes East Palestine Food Bank Whole After Settlement With Founder of Phony Charity

After finding previously unreported funds, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost today announced settlements with one of the phony charity’s founders and its fundraiser that will direct all of the money raised on behalf of Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley to the organization, as intended.

“I have said from the beginning that we will continue to fight for the people of East Palestine, which is exactly what we did here,” Yost said. “Our Charitable Law Section was able to recover and return every cent intended to aid the community.

“These scammers preyed on generous donors to try to line their own pockets, but ultimately were stopped and shut down.”

Yost’s office began investigating the Ohio Clean Water Fund (OCWF), founder Michael Peppel and the organization’s fundraiser after a complaint from Second Harvest officials, who said they had never given OCWF permission to raise money in the food bank’s name.

The investigation found that the phony charity had been soliciting monetary donations for bottled water for East Palestine residents via text messages following the Feb. 3 train derailment and that it had collected more than $141,000 from donors nationwide.

Only after the food bank complained did Peppel agree to pay $10,000 to the food bank, a fraction of what had been collected.

Attorney General Yost sued OCWF in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court and on June 1 announced a settlement with the “charity” and one of its board members, Patrick Lee. That settlement required OCWF to dissolve and to pay $116,904.88 in restitution to the food bank and a $15,000 civil penalty.

Since that settlement, a court-mandated review of OCWF’s bank records, invoices, payment records and other financial documents showed that the phony charity and its fundraiser had actually raised nearly $149,000 – and that OCWF used WAMA Strategies as its main fundraiser.

Under today’s settlement with Peppel and WAMA:

  • Peppel must pay a $25,000 civil penalty and is permanently banned from incorporating, operating or soliciting for any charity in Ohio.
  • WAMA and its owners, Isaiah Wartman and Luke Mahoney, must pay $22,077.48 in restitution to Second Harvest, allowing the attorney general to distribute to the food bank 100% of the donations raised in its name.
  • WAMA and its owners must also pay $3,000 in investigative costs and fees to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
  • WAMA is prohibited for four years from soliciting for a charity in Ohio, and Mahoney is prohibited for four years from incorporating, operating or soliciting for a charity in Ohio.

“This settlement means the cost incurred by the state to investigate and prosecute does not come out of the food bank’s pockets,” Yost said. “That’s precisely the outcome we were looking for.”

“Our thanks to Attorney General Yost for the quick response in fighting for the community of East Palestine to recover contributions that were solicited improperly,” said Michael Iberis, Executive Director of Second Harvest Food Bank. “Second Harvest will be announcing soon how the funds will be used to assist residents.”