Alternatives Living, Inc., was a non-profit organization in the New Orleans area with a stated mission of providing affordable housing to the elderly, homeless families, and individuals with mental disabilities. And through the state of Louisiana, the non-profit received funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to carry out its noble work—assisting about 660 clients annually, enabling them to live successfully within their communities.
Unfortunately, the chief financial officer (CFO) of Alternatives Living—Rickey Roberson—had another purpose as well: to use some of the funds from HUD, specifically earmarked for needy individuals, for his own personal gain. And as a result, there were clients who were not able to get the services that they needed.
How did this all start? In 2010, HUD had contracted with the state of Louisiana to administer its Community Development Block Grants in order to implement affordable housing programs throughout the state. Alternatives Living was one of the organizations selected by the state to provide housing support services to qualified residents.
However, fast forward to 2015. The Louisiana Legislative Auditor, a state government entity, released a public report which concluded that executives at Alternatives Living may have used public funds for personal gain. Based on that report, the FBI’s New Orleans Field Office—after notifying its partners at HUD’s Office of Inspector General—opened a joint investigation.
And what the FBI and HUD investigators uncovered, after looking into the finances of both Alternatives Living and Roberson personally, seemed to validate the findings of the audit report.
As CFO at Alternatives Living, Roberson was entitled to use the non-profit’s credit cards, and he had signature authority on Alternatives Living bank accounts. He used both payment methods to assist clients, but the accounts were also used to pay for his kids’ cell phone bills and some school tuition as well as personal travel, satellite radio, concert tickets, sports tickets, cruise expenses, repairs to his luxury automobiles, and even medical bills for the family dog.
In June 2016, Roberson was indicted on various charges, and in September 2017, in light of the evidence uncovered during the investigation, he pleaded guilty to theft of federal grant funds and agreed to pay more than $84,000 in restitution. Last month, he was sentenced to a federal prison term.
