A former executive director of a Chicago-area non-profit organization was sentenced on March 20 to one year in federal prison for defrauding government grant programs out of nearly $1.9 million, according to an April 8 announcement.
Barbara Harris, who led the Center for Community Academic Success Partnerships (CCASP), admitted to participating in two separate fraud schemes between 2012 and 2023. The case highlights concerns about the misuse of public funds intended for community support and after-school programs.
Prosecutors said Harris, together with another CCASP executive, Tony Bell, submitted false grant applications that inflated expenses and claimed services from five subcontractors that did not actually provide any work. Two of these subcontractors were other non-profits run by Harris and Bell themselves. This scheme resulted in approximately $1.8 million in losses to the Illinois Department of Education.
Harris also committed fraud as co-executive director at South Suburban Community Services (SSCS) from 2021 to 2023 by misrepresenting how AmeriCorps VISTA members would be used within SSCS programs that had already been funded. Eleven VISTA members were approved based on these false claims, causing nearly $99,000 in losses.
Harris pleaded guilty last year to a federal wire fraud charge and acknowledged her role in both schemes before U.S. District Judge Andrea R. Wood imposed a sentence of twelve months’ imprisonment.
The sentencing was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; John Woolley from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General; and Adam Jobes from IRS Criminal Investigation in Chicago, with assistance from several investigative agencies.
“This type of crime erodes the public’s faith in non-profit organizations generally and the federal programs that fund these organizations,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Caitlin Walgamuth said in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “Additionally, because the misappropriated grant funds were competitive, Harris’s conduct likely denied other organizations critical federal funding opportunities.”
Tony Bell also pleaded guilty last year to a wire fraud charge related to this case; his sentencing is scheduled for August.
