⏱ 4 min read
A Chicago-area non-profit exec was sentenced to a year in federal prison for swiping $1.9 million through two brazen fraud schemes.
Barbara Harris, 55, of South Holland, Illinois, served as Executive Director of the Center for Community Academic Success Partnerships (CCASP), a non-profit that received government grants to provide after-school programs in Chicago area schools.
Between 2012 and 2017, Harris schemed with another CCASP executive, Tony Bell, to inflate the non-profit’s projected annual expenses and falsely claim it would receive services from five subcontractors. In reality, those subcontractors provided no services to CCASP, resulting in losses of approximately $1.8 million to the Illinois Department of Education.
Harris’s second scheme began in 2021, while serving as Co-Executive Director of the South Suburban Community Services (SSCS). She bilked the AmeriCorps VISTA program, submitting grant applications that falsely represented VISTA members would work for SSCS programs in the south suburbs of Chicago.
Harris pleaded guilty to a federal wire fraud charge and admitted to her crimes in both schemes. U.S. District Judge Andrea R. Wood sentenced Harris to 12 months in federal prison.
Related Federal Cases
- Outcome Health Execs, $1 Billion Scam, Chicago IL, 2023 · Alaska
- Outcome Health Execs, $1 Billion Scam, Chicago IL, 2023 · Alaska
- Outcome Health Execs, $1 Billion Scam, Chicago IL, 2023 · Alaska
- Chicago Chiropractor Ripped Off $750K in Health Care Scam · Illinois
- Christopher Anthony Slaga, $3.1M Stock Scam, Barbados, 2023 · Illinois
📋 Key Facts
- Crime: White Collar Crime
- Defendant: Illinois
- Location: IL
- Source: DOJ Press Release
