ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - An Edwardsville, Illinois couple who ran a local non-profit in St. Louis has been accused of stealing more than $7 million that was supposed to feed low-income Missouri children.
Diarra Williams, 30, and Nicholas Warford, 31, were indicted on Feb. 26 with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, six counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of obstruction of an official proceeding.
According to the indictment, the couple defrauded Missouri’s At-Risk Afterschool Program and Summer Food Service Program, which are funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Williams ran a non-profit called The Bailey Foundation, which fraudulently claimed it served more than 2.2 million meals. Williams and Warford then laundered the meal money through a company owned by Warford by creating fake invoices that showed meal purchases that were never made.
Warford and Williams allegedly used the money to buy a $1.4 million home in Edwardsville, multiple cars including a 2018 Lincoln Navigator, a 2019 Ram 1500 Rebel pickup, and a 2011 Mercedes Benz Sprinter.
They also spent $140,000 on extravagant vacations, $100,000 on furniture, home electronics and landscaping for their new home, more than $50,000 in school tuition payments and $460,000 on Warford's mother.
The couple falsely claimed in reports to the state that they’d spent the money on feeding children and told the IRS that their lavish spending represented legitimate business expenses of Warford’s company.
They also tried to impede the investigation by producing phony invoices in response to a federal grand jury subpoena.
Both are scheduled to enter a not guilty plea Tuesday afternoon.