Former Chicago-area nonprofit leader sentenced to year in prison for embezzling $1.9 million

A former Chicago-area nonprofit executive has been sentenced to federal prison for aiding in the embezzlement of about $1.9 million in government grants for after-school programs and poverty aid.

Barbara Harris, former executive director of the South Holland-based Center for Community Academic Success Partnerships, was sentenced to one year in prison on March 20, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois. The 55-year-old South Holland resident pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud last year.

She, along with fellow executive Tony Bell, of Mattesson, were indicted in 2022 after being accused of funneling government grant money intended for after-school enrichment programs to their own bank accounts.

From 2012 to 2017, the two sent in falsified grant applications that overstated the organization’s projected yearly expenses to the federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program, which was then administered by the Illinois State Board of Education, according to court documents. They also allegedly fabricated the names of five subcontractors and opened up false bank accounts for them.

The pair allegedly used checks to get cash or to purchase money orders; at least $437,000 to pay Bell’s credit card balances and $130,000 to write several checks made payable to an account the two falsely claimed was a subcontractor of the nonprofit, according to court documents.

In her plea deal, Harris also admitted that, between 2021 to 2023, she was part of a separate fraud scheme in her role as co-executive director of the non-profit South Suburban Community Services. Nearly $99,000 was obtained from the AmeriCorps VISTA program, which awards grants to non-profit organizations working to bring communities out of poverty.

Bell also pleaded guilty to wire fraud and is set to be sentenced in August, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.