SYRACUSE, N.Y. (1010 WINS) -- New York Attorney General Letitia James sued the former-executive director of charity and her husband for embezzling almost $1 million from the organization.
The lawsuit alleges Shirley Goddard, the former executive director and board chair of Humanitarian Organization for Multicultural Experiences (H.O.M.E.), stole between $650,000 and $900,000 from the charity between 2012 and 2018. Her husband Tyrone Goddard, who was also a board chair, allegedly helped to cover up the misappropriated funds.
The charity works to provide services to people with developmental disabilities in the Syracuse area. James contends the Goddards’ actions prevented H.O.M.E. from carrying out that mission to the best of its ability.
“Stealing funds that are used to help developmentally disabled individuals is cruel and goes against everything that we stand for as New Yorkers,” said Attorney General James. “Our communities have faith that our charities will help them through their struggles, and our charities must be stable, honest, and ethical in order to do so.”
A 2018 audit by the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities found Shirley Goddard distributed fake loans to clients, overstated expense reimbursements and overpaid herself.
She was fired after the audit, and her husband resigned around the same time.
The couple worked to establish a lie about a bank error to cover Goddard’s tracks, and would periodically make payments back into H.O.M.E.’s accounts to make it seem like the bank was correcting the bogus mistake, according to the lawsuit.
If found liable, the lawsuit would force the Goddards to pay back the money they stole and would bar them from playing any financial role in New York charities.
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