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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Federal embezzlement charges filed against former chief of Flint's Career Alliance
Gary Ridley | gridley@mlive.com By Gary Ridley | gridley@mlive.com ,
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on June 21, 2013 at 3:22 PM, updated June 21, 2013 at 3:36 PM
FLINT, MI -- The former president and chief executive officer of Career Alliance has been charged with embezzling federal money sent to the employment agency.
The charge against Pamela Loving was filed in Flint U.S. District Court as criminal “information.” A plea hearing has been ordered for Loving, but no date has yet been set.
Loving, the former president and chief executive officer, is charged with embezzling more than $1,000 in federal funds paid to the organization through the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.
Authorities allege the embezzlement began July 1, 2006, and lasted until May 3, 2007, according to the federal information filed against Loving.
The criminal information against Loving was filed June 12 and sealed by U.S. District Judge Mark A. Goldsmith, but few other details on the allegations are outlined in the court filings. Goldsmith unsealed the file on Wednesday, June 19.
Loving could not be reached for comment on the charges, and no attorney was listed in the court file. A man who answered the door at Loving's Flint home said she was unavailable.
County, state and federal investigators reported chronic mismanagement and improper spending at Career Alliance after a series of Flint Journal stories in 2007 detailed problems at the organization.
Career Alliance serves as a job-training agency for Genesee and Shiawassee counties as well as the city of Flint and is responsible for millions of dollars for employment programs.
Representatives with the United States Attorney's Office declined to comment on the case.
Loving was placed on unpaid administrative leave from her position at Career Alliance in 2007 and never returned. She won a $154,000 judgment in 2008 against Career Alliance in a Genesee Circuit Court case that claimed her contract had been effectively terminated.
A message seeking comment was left with Career Alliance.
State officials disallowed spending by Career Alliance on training and travel for Loving and her husband and questioned payments to vendors and other spending while Loving led the organization.
A pretrial hearing for Loving was scheduled for Friday, June 21, in front of U.S. District Magistrate Judge Michael Hluchaniuk.
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Tue Oct 29, 2013 6:39 am; edited 4 times in total |
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Fri Jun 21, 2013 3:56 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Just spoke to Sheriff Pickell and congratulated him on the efforts of the investigation his office conducted finally coming to fruition.
Hopefully this signals the beginning of the government making public corruption a priority. The residents of both the city and the county are fed up with rampant corruption and no accountability. |
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Fri Jun 21, 2013 6:14 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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THE BIG QUESTION IS WHY THE INVESTIGATION TOOK SO LONG!
Lawsuit still pending, but ousted Career Alliance top executive Pamela Y. Loving gets $155,000 in back pay
Ron Fonger | rfonger1@mlive.com By Ron Fonger | rfonger1@mlive.com The Flint Journal
on March 20, 2009 at 7:47 PM, updated March 20, 2009 at 7:51 PM Print View/Post Comments
FLINT, Michigan -- Career Alliance Inc. has paid former president and chief executive officer Pamela Loving more than $155,000 while it waits for its own lawsuit against her to move forward next month.
Genesee Circuit Court records show the payment to Loving was made before Nov. 21, closing out her lawsuit against the job training agency.
Flint Journal extras Legal issues There have been three separate legal matters involving Career Alliance Inc. and how the job training agency was run during the tenure of former top executive Pamela Y. Loving. They are:
• Pending: Career Alliance v. Loving. The job training agency sued Loving in Genesee Circuit Court, claiming she spent agency funds on religious training for her and her husband and ran up unsupported credit card charges. The case is pending.
• Resolved: Loving v. Career Alliance: Loving sued the agency and won back pay in Genesee Circuit Court. The $155,469 debt was paid in November.
• Unknown: The grand jury. A federal grand jury this year indicted Flint's former interim police chief as part of an investigation into possible wrongdoing at Career Alliance. U.S. attorneys won't comment on whether their investigation is still active.
Source: Flint Journal files, Genesee County Circuit Court records
Loving claimed she was owed the payout under the terms of her employment contract, despite having been removed from her job after serious problems surfaced at Career Alliance almost two years ago.
Nearly $600,000 in spending was found to be improper, and only this month, the state Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth proposed closing out the case in exchange for repayment of 10 percent of the debt.
"Once (Judge Joseph J. Farah) issued the judgment we really didn't have a choice," said current Career Alliance President and CEO Alicia Booker.
A separate lawsuit, filed against Loving by Career Alliance, has moved slowly in Circuit Court while a federal grand jury investigation of the job training agency also has moved at a sluggish pace.
While Loving's lawsuit against the agency claimed her contract was violated, Career Alliance claims Loving owes it money because she used her position for her own financial gain, attended seminars with her husband that were unnecessary, and used Career Alliance funds to pay for her own charitable contributions and other personal expenditures, according to the lawsuit.
In a court filing, Loving has claimed Career Alliance's lawsuit covers issues that were already addressed in her lawsuit.
Attorneys representing both sides are due back in court next month to discuss the case and whether it will be put on a track to move to trial. |
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Fri Jun 21, 2013 7:35 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Former head of Career Alliance, Flint school board member plead guilty to embezzlement in federal court
Gary Ridley | gridley@mlive.com By Gary Ridley | gridley@mlive.com ,
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on June 21, 2013 at 7:22 PM, updated June 21, 2013 at 7:50 PM
Career Alliance.JPGTwo women have pleaded guilty to federal charges that they embezzled money from Career Alliance.Gary Ridley | MLive.com
FLINT, MI -- The former head of Career Alliance and a former Flint school board member pleaded guilty Friday, June 21, to embezzling federal funds from the career services agency.
Pamela Loving, 69, and Helen Williams, 59, each pleaded guilty to one count of "misapplication" -- which federal documents also call embezzlement -- of Workforce Investment Act funding. They appeared in front of Flint U.S. District Magistrate Judge Michael J. Hluchaniuk.
The pleas were taken under advisement until approved by Flint U.S. District Judge Mark A. Goldsmith. There is no date scheduled when Goldsmith will approve the pleas.
Loving, the former president and chief executive officer of Career Alliance, admitted in court to taking $78,000 from the organization for her personal benefit and to pay for training sessions for people who did not work for Career Alliance.
Flint Journal records show Loving was placed on unpaid administrative leave from her position at
Career Alliance in 2007 and never returned. She won a $154,000 judgment
in 2008 against Career Alliance because she claimed her contract had been effectively terminated.
Williams served as executive director of Flint Family Road, an
organization started with the goal of reducing infant deaths by better
preparing parents to be mothers and fathers, according to Flint Journal files.
Williams admitted in court to falsifying invoices to get money from Career Alliance contractors for services she never provided. Williams admitted in court to embezzling more than $88,000.
Williams served on the Flint school board for seven years, before resigning in 2001.
In a 2008 letter questioning spending at Career Alliance, the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth said it had been informed Helen Williams was a cousin of Loving and that Family Road was
given rent-free space in Career Alliance's Ruether Center.
Loving and Williams declined to comment on the court proceedings. Their attorneys, Richard Morgan and Kenneth Scott, also declined comment.
The two admitted that the embezzlement began July 2006 and lasted until May 2007.
The plea agreements call for both women to serve up to 10-16 months in a federal prison if Judge Goldsmith accepts their pleas. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 15.
County, state and federal investigators
reported chronic mismanagement and improper spending at Career Alliance
after a series of Flint Journal stories in 2007 detailed problems at
the organization.
Career Alliance serves as a job-training agency
for Genesee and Shiawassee counties as well as the city of Flint and is
responsible for millions of dollars for employment programs.
Current Career Alliance officials could not be reached for comment. |
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Fri Jun 21, 2013 8:05 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Allegations have been made that Pam loving and Helen Williams are cousins and Williams was given free rent at Career Alliance.
Career Alliance shuts down after state scrutiny
Published: Wednesday, April 30, 2008, 8:42 AM Updated: Wednesday, April 30, 2008, 8:45 AM
Ron Fonger | RFONGER1@mlive.com By Ron Fonger | RFONGER1@mlive.com
This story ran in The Flint Journal on Oct. 4, 2007
FLINT - Flint Family Road - a nonprofit group tied closely to Career Alliance Inc. - has closed its doors, weeks after state regulators questioned more than $200,000 that may have been improperly funneled to it through Career Alliance contractors.
The shutdown Friday (Sept. 2 marks the second time in 60 days that a high-profile program or organization connected to Career Alliance has been shut down because it may not have been funded properly.
Taxpayers in Genesee and Shiawassee counties could ultimately be responsible for repaying the federal funds if they are disallowed by regulators.
In August, Career Alliance shelved Amistad Academy - at least temporarily - until the state determines whether Career Alliance actually was operating Amistad itself, something that it isn't allowed to do without a special waiver from the governor.
In the case of Flint Family Road, state regulators questioned why four organizations with Career Alliance contracts were billed $209,998 for interview classes and a clothing program run by Flint Family Road.
Not only does Career Alliance not have a written contract with Flint Family Road to establish what services are being provided or the cost of the services, the state said in a Sept. 13 letter, but the organization apparently has no records or files supporting invoices for its most recent program year.
"It was just some funding issues," said Craig Coney, interim president and chief executive officer of Career Alliance. "Things will be procured properly in the future."
Flint Family Road began with the goal of reducing infant deaths by better preparing parents to be mothers and fathers, but the program's initial funding dried up, officials said. It later operated interviewing classes and a program to provide clothing for job applicants who were headed out on interviews.
The group operated from a Career Alliance-owned building and cashed in on provisions in contracts between Career Alliance and service providers like the Urban League.
A Sept. 13 report from the state Department of Labor and Economic Growth said subcontractors of Career Alliance paid Flint Family Road for "supportive services" whether they used those services or not.
The report questions the spending, which it says was done "without competitively procuring the services," and which "duplicated service that other Career Alliance contractors already provide."
The report says Career Alliance does not have a written contract with Flint Family Road that establishes the types of services to be provided or the costs of the services, and says a representative of Flint Family Road indicated "all records and files supporting invoices for supportive services for program year 2006-2007, both hard copies and computer generated, are non-existent."
Paul Newman, interim president of the Urban League of Flint, said his organization suspended payments to Flint Family Road in June on the advice of state monitors.
"It wasn't (subject to negotiation)," Newman said of the contract provision from Career Alliance that required Urban League to pay Flint Family Road $52,499 last year.
"It was written into our contract," Newman said.
Flint Family Road's most recent tax return, received by the Internal Revenue Service in January, listed former Flint Board of Education member Helen Williams as executive director.
The Flint Journal could not reach Williams, who earned $54,494 in salary from the nonprofit organization in 2005.
James S. Richardson, a member of the Flint Family Road Board of Directors, said Williams left the nonprofit earlier this year and acknowledged that the organization won't reopen.
"We're taking the steps we need to shut down ... to close the organization," Richardson said.
The state's questioning of Flint Family Road is another burden for Career Alliance, which is already struggling to show past purchases have been procured properly, that accounting problems can be fixed and that spending of federal funds designed to help train workers has been spent properly.
The organization has placed former Chief Executive Officer Pamela Y. Loving on administrative leave. |
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Sat Jun 22, 2013 7:08 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Sheriff Pickell took trucks and carried away court ordered documents in file cabinets after Career Alliance failed to cooperate in his investigation.
Martini told the County commissioners the feds were still investigating him and they had offered him a deal if he resigned. He was fired and he is suing. What happens now. Will the courts pay him off like they did Loving.
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Sheriff Robert Pickell and Prosecutor David Leyton call proposed budget cuts "retaliation"
Shannon Murphy | smurphy5@mlive.com By Shannon Murphy | smurphy5@mlive.com The Flint Journal
on August 12, 2009 at 1:49 PM, updated August 13, 2009 at 7:40 AM Print
Both the Genesee County sheriff and prosecutor on Wednesday called proposed cuts to their budgets by county Controller George Martini "retaliation" for a criminal investigation of Career Alliance Inc., the job training agency that Martini's office has some oversight responsibility for.
Sheriff Robert Pickell has been at odds with Martini over budget cuts the controller has proposed as the county looks to eliminate a projected $15-million budget deficit for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.
"If George Martini has his way it eliminates my officers in the Posse (the sheriff's drug team) and the prosecutor's people in the team," Pickell said. "I'm sure the elected officials will see that as retaliatory."
Martini said last week that he was threatened by a county commissioner over proposed cuts to the sheriff's budget. He called Pickell's comments today "bull."
"Somewhere along the way somebody hasn't got it that this county is going broke," Martini said. "(The county) has lost huge amounts of resources. You can only afford so much."
Last year, FBI agents raided county offices and took 16 boxes of records partly related to Career Alliance. The FBI took over the investigation of Career Alliance from Pickell. Martini was never was charged with any crime.
Since then, former Interim Flint police Chief David Dicks and his father, Super Chief Richard Dicks, have been federally indicted on fraud charges related to their private security company's work at Career Alliance.
Prosecutor David Leyton said his budget has been targeted by Martini as well and further cuts would result in the loss of three assistant prosecuting attorneys.
The two officials said they investigated Martini's ties to Career Alliance since the county is paid with federal funds to oversee the job-training agencies spending and cash draw-downs.
Leyton agreed that cuts to his budget also were in retaliation to the criminal investigation.
"The controller recommended cuts to the sheriff and myself which will devastate our fight against crime," he said.
Martini said he proposed cuts of across the board in county government -- about 5 percent of requested amounts from most offices, including Leyton's. Pickell's cut was less, about 3.5 percent, and the controller did not spell out how the sheriff should trim about $750,000 of the approximately $1.5 million to be cut.
"The reality is the cuts (were a greater percentage) in most of the other departments ," Martini said.
The county Board of Commissioners makes the final decision on where to cut spending to reach the $92.3 million in revenues that the county has projected to have in its general fund. |
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Sat Jun 22, 2013 7:24 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The contractor mentioned in the article is allegedly Loving's son from her first marriage.
Archie Bailey is usually right on target when it comes to speaking up against corruption, even when he is the only one.
I was told the board received a forged letter regarding the status of the agency. A failing report was revised and indicated to the board the agency was doing fine work.
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Sheriff conducts search at Career Alliance; board votes to release Loving
Ron Fonger | rfonger1@mlive.com By Ron Fonger | rfonger1@mlive.com The Flint Journal
on August 24, 2007 at 8:54 PM, updated August 29, 2007 at 5:33 PM Print View/Post Comments
FLINT -- Genesee County Sheriff's Department investigators descended on Career Alliance Inc. on Friday, loading a trailer with seized documents from the job training agency.
Sheriff Robert J. Pickell said he had no choice but to obtain a search warrant to carry out the seizure because officials for the nonprofit agency would not turn over the records earlier this week.
"Normally I would not comment but I'm forced to do this because the Career Alliance attorney told us he would not make the records available to us," Pickell said. "I understand he's trying to protect his client, but in the process he's forced us to do something I didn't want to do.
"It makes these people look like they are trying to hide something."
Neither Career Alliance attorney Peter Goodstein nor interim president and chief executive officer Craig Coney would comment on the situation Friday.
The Flint Journal could not reach Mike Zelley, the longtime chairman of the Career Alliance oversight board, for comment.
The Genesee-Shiawassee Workforce Development Board met Friday morning before the search warrant was executed, but the criminal investigation was not mentioned during the meeting.
The same members of the Workforce Development Board, who are appointed by Flint, Genesee and Shiawassee counties, also make up the Career Alliance Board of Directors.
That group voted Friday to give notice to President and CEO Pamela Loving that members do not intend to renew her contract.
Loving's salary and benefit package was reported as the richest of its kind in Michigan -- worth more than $200,000 in salary and benefits in 2006, according to state documents obtained by The Journal through the Freedom of Information Act.
The oversight board placed Loving on paid leave after Career Alliance's troubles with regulators were detailed in a series of stories in The Journal earlier this year.
Among its problems with state monitors: lack of documentation in credit card purchases, non-competitive procurement and generally lax controls over spending
.
In June, Keith W. Cooley, director of the state Department of Labor & Economic Growth, said he was gravely concerned about the agency's condition.
The Career Alliance board also voted Friday to negotiate an early separation agreement with Loving, whose contract expires July 1, 2008.
Members of the Workforce Development Board said they have been working since placing Loving on leave to restore credibility to the agency, have resolved some outstanding issues with regulators and have improved their own oversight policies and practices.
One board member, Ivan Love of Shiawassee County, said the agency's mode of operation has to change so that board members start receiving monitoring letters and other documents that tell them directly and early of any problems.
"Many of these difficulties could have been resolved" if board members knew how long problems were lingering, Love said.
Ed Donovan, another board member, said the group was "duped.""We can feign indignation, but ultimately, we're responsible," Donovan said. "I believe this board got duped. We need to not allow that to happen again."
Donovan said it was "bush league" to have to read about problems at Career Alliance in The Journal instead of hearing about problems directly from Career Alliance executives.
Pickell would not discuss what was seized from Career Alliance on Friday, but a letter to him from Genesee County Board of Commissioners Chairman Archie Bailey, D-Flushing, in early July suggested the sheriff has a broad jurisdiction to investigate possible crimes at the agency.
Bailey's letter suggests Career Alliance used a non-competitive process to purchase a telephone system valued at more than $117,000 last year.
"A consultant was obtained to evaluate the existing Career Alliance telephone system and to determine the telephone system the agency may have needed," Bailey's letter says. "A new system was recommended ... from the consultant's company."
The letter suggests an executive for one company that benefited from the purchase may be related to a Career Alliance administrator.
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Sat Jun 22, 2013 7:34 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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.S. labor department takes over probe of Career Alliance, job training agency in Flint
Print Ron Fonger | rfonger1@mlive.com By Ron Fonger | rfonger1@mlive.com The Flint Journal
on March 14, 2008 at 10:29 PM, updated March 14, 2008 at 11:40 PM
FLINT -- An investigation into the multimillion-dollar Career Alliance Inc. has been taken by agents of the U.S. Department of Labor, The Flint Journal has learned.
Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell, who started the investigation into possible crimes at the job training agency in August, confirmed this week he has turned his information over to federal prosecutors.
A look at past coverage:
• February 2008: Search of Dicks home tied to Career Alliance probe in Flint
• November 2007: State questions spending on gift cards, relatives of administrators at Career Alliance-related program
• October 2007: Another program associated with Career Alliance closes amid questions
• September 2008: Authorities raid home of Career Alliance leader as part of criminal probe, sources say
• August 2007: Pickell said Career Alliance wouldn't voluntarily turn over records
• August 2007: Sheriff conducts search at Career Alliance; board votes to release Loving
• July 2007: Pressure mounts on Career Alliance board over possible conflicts of interest, lack of oversight
• July 2007: Career Alliance ranks low among state job agencies
• July 2007: Genesee County fears more trouble at Career Alliance
• June 2007: Outside investigator to probe accounting practices, credit card use at Career Alliance
• June 2006: State sends letter over 27 Career Alliance concerns
Labor Department agents will present their findings in pieces or in whole to the U.S. attorney's office in advance of criminal charges -- if they are filed.
Meanwhile, Flint's fire chief and his son, a city police inspector, have hired one of the area's leading criminal attorneys to defend them against possible charges stemming from their private security company's dealings with Career Alliance.
City Security Guard Co., which has provided security at Career Alliance buildings, lists Fire Chief Richard Dicks as its president and treasurer in documents filed with the state.
Federal agents last month searched the homes of Dicks and his son, David, a Flint police inspector, looking for records related to Career Alliance. Richard Dicks' home in Genesee Township is the main office for City Security Guard
Frank Manley, a well-known criminal attorney, said he has talked briefly with federal officials, telling them he has been hired to defend the Dicks.
The Flint Journal could not reach the U.S. attorney's office for comment Thursday or Friday.
Career Alliance is a $20-million-a-year agency that provides job training and education to the poor and unemployed.
Pickell's officers searched the home of Pam Loving, the job training agency's former president and chief executive officer, as well as Career Alliance headquarters in September and August.
A series of Journal stories have detailed the nonprofit agency's continued problems meeting state regulations and its spending -- including the involvement of Loving's son in the purchase of a telephone system -- that led to the involvement of police.
Loving sued Career Alliance after its board of directors placed her on leave, claiming she was still entitled to be paid through the end of her contract. She has denied wrongdoing in her lawsuit.
The agency's board recently agreed to hire a replacement for Loving and is getting closer to resolving remaining issues with state regulators.
Some of those worried about the agency's fate said they have mixed feelings about the potential for criminal charges against current or former employees or contractors.
"When it comes to right and wrong, you want to stand up for what's just ... (but also) life is about forgiveness," said the Rev. Quintin Marshall Sr., pastor of New Life Tabernacle C.O.G.I.C. in Flint. "Who do you find who doesn't have a (crease) in their armor?"
Marshall, president of Genesee County Church of God in Christ Alliance, supports a group that has been working to keep Career Alliance's Broome Center open despite a high vacancy rate there.
"We got people who are homeless and need a job (and) leaving prison and can't find work," Marshall said. "Let's work on these problems." |
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Sat Jun 22, 2013 7:38 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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HOPEFULLY MORE ARRESTS ARE FORTHCOMING! CORRUPTION AFFECTS ALL OF US
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Genesee County controller says he's subject of criminal probe
Ron Fonger | rfonger1@mlive.com By Ron Fonger | rfonger1@mlive.com The Flint Journal
on January 09, 2013 at 2:00 PM, updated January 10, 2013 at 11:57 AM Print
GENESEE COUNTY, MI --
County Controller George Martini says he's been the subject of a criminal investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office for years and been told he won't be prosecuted if he resigns his position.
Martini, in a letter to the county Board of Commissioners today, Jan. 9, said the investigation is tied to his office's oversight of improper spending at the job training agency Career Alliance Inc., and said he has no plan to leave his job.
County, state and federal investigators found chronic mismanagement and improper spending at Career Alliance after a series of Flint Journal stories in 2007 detailed problems at the organization.
Martini on Wednesday said his office has made "many improvements" in its oversight of Career Alliance since 2007 but the federal probe has continued.
"I would like to say it's all over with but it is still, I guess, (an) open (investigation)," Martini said today. "It is five-and-a-half years old, and I haven't been charged."
Former Career Alliance Chief Executive Officer Pam Loving was placed on unpaid administrative leave at the time and never returned to her position, and former Flint Police Chief David Dicks was sentenced to six months home confinement for collecting paychecks for what authorities said was a no-show job at the agency.
Career Alliance serves as a job training agency for Genesee and Shiawassee counties and the city of Flint and is responsible for millions of dollars for employment programs for the unemployed.
Martini said the investigation of his office's oversight of Career Alliance has been ongoing for years and said that he has never been told it was closed.
The Flint Journal could not immediately reach the U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit for comment.
"The claims that the U.S. Attorney's Office have made against me have changed through the years ...," Martini's letter says. "What has remained consistent ... is the offer that there would not be any criminal prosecution if I were to resign my position and sign a diversion agreement with that office."
County board Chairman Jamie Curtis said the federal investigation is one of the reasons he asked for Martini's resignation in 2011 and suggested it may be time for commissioners to reconsider the controller's future.
The controller is the county's chief financial and accounting officer and is an at-will employee, serving as long as he has the support of the nine-member county commission. State law requires six votes to fire a county controller, former county attorney Ward Chapman has said.
"Now that George has admitted it publicly ... why should (leaving) be on his terms?" Curtis asked. "Why in the hell can't we go out and (get a new controller)?"
Martini was recently a finalist to become Saginaw County executive but was not offered the position.
In his letter, Martini said it is not his intent to resign "unless I am able to secure a promotional opportunity with another employer." |
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Sat Jun 22, 2013 7:47 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Taxpayers still on hook for $154,000 paid to convicted ex-Career Alliance embezzler
Gary Ridley | gridley@mlive.com By Gary Ridley | gridley@mlive.com
on September 08, 2013 at 7:50 AM, updated September 08, 2013 at 7:53 AM
FLINT, MI -- If Career Alliance had known then what they know now, taxpayers could have avoided paying a convicted embezzler more than $150,000
An MLive-Flint Journal review of former Career Alliance head Pamela Loving's contract shows Career Alliance's contract with her could be broken if Loving was "convicted of or pleads guilty to any felony or to a non-traffic work-related misdemeanor."
In June, Loving pleaded guilty in Flint U.S. District Court to one count of embezzlement of Workforce Investment Act funding -- a plea that came six years after taxpayers paid Loving $154,000 after she sued on claims her contract was inappropriately terminated during the investigation into allegations of improper spending and accounting.
Loving, the former president and chief executive officer of Career Alliance, admitted in court June 21 to taking roughly $78,000 from the organization for her personal benefit and to pay for training sessions for people who did not work for Career Alliance.
Loving, who was placed on unpaid administrative leave from her position at Career Alliance in 2007 and never returned, won a $154,000 judgment in 2008 against Career Alliance in a Genesee Circuit Court case.
John Taylor, a law professor at Lansing-based Cooley Law School, said that the employment assistance organization could succeed in a potential lawsuit against its former director, Pamela Loving, who pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement of Workforce Investment Act funding in Flint U.S. District Court.
"I would say they probably would have a good cause of action to try to retrieve the money," Taylor said.
So far, however, no legal action has been taken.
Current Career Alliance CEO Craig Coney could not be reached for comment.
Loving's attorney, Richard Morgan, could not be reached for comment.
Loving's plea agreement calls for her to pay restitution to every identifiable victim in the case, which is to be determined by U.S. District Judge Mark A. Goldsmith at her Oct. 15 sentencing hearing in the embezzlement case.
Taylor said the extended period of time since the lawsuit could make it difficult for the county to recoup the money unless they find out that Loving "hit the lottery or inherited some money."
Genesee Circuit Court records show that Wells Fargo Bank filed a lawsuit May 7 against Loving claiming that she has not made payments since December 2012 on the mortgage for her Vanderbilt Drive home in Flint, according to court records.
The bank claims that Loving now owes it $246,265 -- the entire amount of the mortgage -- plus nearly $20,000 in interest, escrow advances, late charges and other fees.
"As a practical matter, good luck trying to collect," Taylor said of Career Alliance's possibility of recouping its money. "They probably have good cause (but) since they've already paid the money they probably are going to be throwing good money after bad."
County, state and federal investigators reported chronic mismanagement and improper spending at Career Alliance after a series of Flint Journal stories in 2007 detailed problems at the organization.
Career Alliance serves as a job-training agency for Genesee and Shiawassee counties as well as the city of Flint and is responsible for millions of dollars for employment program.
Former Flint school Board Member Helen Williams also pleaded guilty to embezzlement following the investigation into Career Alliance.
Williams served as executive director of Flint Family Road, an organization started with the goal of reducing infant deaths by better preparing parents to be mothers and fathers, according to Flint Journal files.
She admitted in court to falsifying invoices to get money from Career Alliance contractors for services she never provided. Williams admitted in court to embezzling more than $88,000.
Williams served on the Flint school board for seven years, before resigning in 2001.
In a 2008 letter questioning spending at Career Alliance, the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth said it had been informed Helen Williams was a cousin of Loving and that Family Road was given rent-free space in Career Alliance's Ruether Center.
Williams is also scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 15. Sentencing guidelines in their plea agreements call for the women to serve upward of 10-16 months in prison.
Staff writer Ron Fonger contributed to this report.
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Sun Sep 08, 2013 7:14 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The lawsuit by Wells Fargo was dismissed on 9/4/13 for non service. Why no alternate service?
The house at 1533 Vanderbilt has all of the taxes paid through 2012. |
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Sun Sep 08, 2013 8:07 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Former Career Alliance chief financial officer sentenced to probation in Flint federal court
Amanda Emery | aemery@mlive.com By Amanda Emery | aemery@mlive.com
on October 24, 2013 at 6:45 PM, updated October 24, 2013 at 6:49 PM
Career Alliance.JPGThe former chief financial officer for Career Alliance has been sentenced for the role he played in embezzling federal funds sent to the employment agency. QB Pittman was sentenced on Thursday, Oct. 24, in federal court to 1-year probationMLive.com File
FLINT, MI – The former chief financial officer for Career Alliance has been sentenced for the role he played in embezzling federal funds sent to the employment agency.
QB Pittman was sentenced on Thursday, Oct. 24, in U.S. District Court to one year probation. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Hluchaniuk also ordered Pittman to pay $91,321.46 in restitution.
In June, Pittman pleaded guilty to misapplication of Workforce Investment Act funding, which is a misdemeanor.
Pittman said in court that he did not directly benefit from the money taken, but also admitted he did nothing to stop it.
"I'm sorry for even getting myself in this position," Pittman told the judge. "I accept full responsibility."
It's an ongoing saga that first began in 2007, when police began to investigate Career Alliance President and Chief Executive Officer Pamela Y. Loving. Authorities allege the embezzlement began July 1, 2006, and lasted until May 3, 2007, according to the federal information filed against Loving.
Loving, 69, and Helen Williams, former executive director of Flint Family Road, each pleaded guilty on June 21 to one count of "misapplication" -- which federal documents also call embezzlement -- of Workforce Investment Act funding.
Loving admitted in court to taking $78,000 from the organization for her personal benefit and to pay for training sessions for people who did not work for Career Alliance.
Flint Journal records show Loving was placed on unpaid administrative leave from her position at Career Alliance in 2007 and never returned. She won a $154,000 judgment in 2008 against Career Alliance because she claimed her contract had been effectively terminated.
Williams, 59, served as executive director of Flint Family Road, an organization started with the goal of reducing infant deaths by better preparing parents to be mothers and fathers, according to Flint Journal files.
Williams admitted in court to falsifying invoices to get money from Career Alliance contractors for services she never provided, embezzling more than $88,000.
In a 2008 letter questioning spending at Career Alliance, the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth said it had been informed Helen Williams was a cousin of Loving and that Family Road was given rent-free space in Career Alliance's Ruether Center.
County, state and federal investigators reported chronic mismanagement and improper spending at Career Alliance after a series of Flint Journal stories in 2007 detailed problems at the organization.
Career Alliance serves as a job-training agency for Genesee and Shiawassee counties as well as the city of Flint and is responsible for millions of dollars for employment program.
Both Pittman and his attorney Trachelle Young declined to comment as they left the courtroom.
Amanda Emery is a police reporter for MLive-Flint Journal. Contact her at aemery@mlive.com or 810-285-0792. Follow her on Twitter or Facebook. |
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Fri Oct 25, 2013 5:58 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Lawsuit: Vendor claims Genesee/Shiawassee Michigan Works rigged bids to favor certain businesses
Gary Ridley | gridley@mlive.com By Gary Ridley | gridley@mlive.com
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on October 29, 2013 at 7:00 AM, updated October 29, 2013 at 7:07 AM
Career Alliance.JPGGenesee/Shiawassee Michigan Works, formerly known as Career Alliance, is accused of bid rigging in a lawsuit filed by a career services contractor. Gary Ridley | MLive.com
FLINT, MI -- A Flint company claims Genesee/Shiawassee Michigan Works rigged bids when it selected a competing business to receive millions in taxpayer dollars to administer workforce development services in Genesee County.
Human Investment and Development Corporation levied the allegations in a lawsuit filed Sept. 23 in Genesee Circuit Court after Genesee/Shiawassee Michigan Works, formerly known as Career Alliance, awarded a $2.1 million workforce development contact to the competing company, Action Management.
A response to the lawsuit has not been filed and officials with the local and state Michigan Works offices could not be reached for comment.
Flint attorney Alec Gibbs, who filed the lawsuit, claims that actions by local Michigan Works! employees leading up to the rejection of Human Investment's bid further supports the allegations of bid rigging.
Human Investment continues to operate in a limited capacity under a $300,000 contract for services in Shiawassee County, Gibbs said. The lawsuit claims the loss of the Genesee County contract has forced the company to lay off more than 20 employees.
The lawsuit claims that Human Investment had a decades-long record of successful bidding for projects administered by the Michigan Works office in Flint but that the company lost four contracts in 2012 after the local Michigan Works office stopped doing blind bidding and instead required companies to identify themselves in all facets of the bid process.
In one of the contracts, the new bid rating system caused Human Development to lose out on more than $2 million to administer the state's Partnership Accountability Training Hope program, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit by Human Investment claims that officials with the local Michigan Works office conducted closed-door meetings with Action Management representatives to conspire against Human Investment to prevent the company from fairly competing for contracts. The suit also claims the local Michigan Works office changed their bidding system to include biased bid raters to issue artificially lower scores on proposals submitted by Human Investment.
The local Michigan Works office allegedly manipulated the bid system for the 2013 PATH program by throwing out ratings that would have raised the score for an agency they did not want to work with and instead issued an alternate lower rating, according to court documents. The agency is also accused of re-rating lower scores for agencies that they wanted to contract with.
Human Investment also accuses the local Michigan Works office of directing internal bid raters to score bids a certain way. But, if that approach was not feasible, Human Investment claims the local Michigan Works office would manipulate the scoring system to favor the agency they wanted to work with.
The lawsuit claims that local Michigan Works officials began telling Human Investment employees in 2012, after the local Michigan Works office awarded other contracts previously administered by Human Investment to Action Management, that they should expect more layoffs in the future.
The lawsuit also alleges that local Michigan Works officials, including one employee who was allegedly one of the bid raters, began soliciting Human Investment employees for jobs at Action Management. |
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Tue Oct 29, 2013 6:37 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Attorney for former Career Alliance head asks judge to spare her from prison time in federal embezzlement case
Gary Ridley | gridley@mlive.com By Gary Ridley | gridley@mlive.com
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on November 30, 2013 at 7:00 AM, updated November 30, 2013 at 7:11 AM
FLINT, MI -- The attorney for the former head of Career Alliance who pleaded guilty to embezzlement has asked a federal judge to spare her from prison time, referring to her as an iconic figure in the Flint community.
Pamela Loving, 70, is set to be sentenced Tuesday, Dec. 3, in Flint U.S. District Court after pleading guilty in June to embezzling federal funds from the career services agency.
Loving, the former president and chief executive officer of Career Alliance, admitted in court to taking $78,000 from the organization for her personal benefit and to pay for training sessions for people who did not work for Career Alliance.
A sentencing memorandum submitted to the court Wednesday, Nov. 27, her attorney, Richard Morgan, says that Loving is alleged to have misappropriated more than $700,000 in funds during her 11 year tenure at Career Alliance, which now goes by the name Genesee/Shiawassee Michigan Works.
Morgan, who has not commented on Loving's case, claims in the memorandum that Loving used $13,000 of the funds for her own personal use -- used mainly to purchase airplane tickets to conferences and possibly taking her husband along.
"...Ms. Loving is alleged to have misappropriated funds, again, the amount of money that one might argue, went directly into her pocket is miniscule in comparison to the amount of money that she had control of, $20 million for over 11 years amounts to $200 million," Morgan wrote. "Therefore, the allegation that she may have misappropriates for herself $13,000 speaks volumes as to the kind of person Ms. Loving was."
The rest of the money was distributed into programs that "the Department of Labor thought should no longer be funded," Morgan claims.
Morgan argues in the memorandum that the federal judge should issue a sentence that does not call for prison time, but rather probation, home confinement or a tether. Loving's plea agreement calls for her to serve 10-16 months in federal prison.
"Ms. Loving has paid a dear price for what she believed to have been a deed to help mankind," Morgan wrote. "As misguided as this may now appear in the daylight, as she was performing her tasks she certainly did not see herself as being a criminal or someone that was doing something inappropriate, as far as she was concerned."
Loving, too, submitted a statement to the judge asking him to forgo including prison time in her sentence.
"I have lived my entire life on behalf of others," Loving said. "Incarceration would be very difficult for me and my family at age 70. I have no intention of using federal funds for any purpose in the future."
Loving has served on the Flint school board, on the Hurley Board of Managers and the Flint Public Library Board.
"This is a woman who dedicated her life to the Flint community," Morgan wrote. "A woman who met the challenges and needs of a diverse population and succeeded in helping and changing many of their lives."
Flint Journal records show Loving was placed on unpaid administrative leave from her position at Career Alliance in 2007 and never returned. She won a $154,000 judgment in 2008 against Career Alliance because she claimed her contract had been effectively terminated.
County, state and federal investigators reported chronic mismanagement and improper spending at Career Alliance after a series of Flint Journal stories in 2007 detailed problems at the organization.
Career Alliance serves as a job-training agency for Genesee and Shiawassee counties as well as the city of Flint and is responsible for millions of dollars for employment programs.
Last month, former Flint school board member, Helen Williams was sentenced to two years probation after she pleaded guilty to embezzling funds from Career Alliance.
Williams served as executive director of Flint Family Road, an organization started with the goal of reducing infant deaths by better preparing parents to be mothers and fathers, according to Flint Journal files.
She admitted in court to falsifying invoices to get money from Career Alliance contractors for services she never provided. Williams admitted in court to embezzling more than $88,000.
Williams served on the Flint school board for seven years, before resigning in 2001.
In a 2008 letter questioning spending at Career Alliance, the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth said it had been informed Helen Williams was a cousin of Loving and that Family Road was given rent-free space in Career Alliance's Ruether Center.
Williams was sentenced Oct. 17 by Flint U.S. District Judge Mark A. Goldsmith to also pay more than $240,000 in restitution.
QB Pittman, Career Alliance's former chief Financial officer, was sentenced Oct. 24 in U.S. District Court to one year probation ordered to pay $91,321.46 in restitution after Pittman pleaded guilty to misapplication of Workforce Investment Act funding.
Pittman said in court that he did not directly benefit from the money taken, but also admitted he did nothing to stop it. |
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Sat Nov 30, 2013 9:16 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Loving is one of many who used the taxpayer's funds to finance their lifestyles and that of her family. Why should any of them receive breaks? Has everyone forgotten about the contract she got for her son to replace a phone system that wasn't broken? What other deals were cut?
Former directors claim her administration took a negative evaluation from the program and altered it into a glowing one from the feds so that they would not know the extent of the problems.
She has played on her family name long enough. I was once on the Mott College minority advisory board. Realizing we needed by-laws, I wrote them and former Civil Right leader Anne Guevara refined them. I couldn't be t one meeting and they held elections making Loving the President. I had never seen her there before and I attended faithfully. I never saw her after either.
There are others. I was kept out of the North Central Weed and Seed meeting when the feds came to town. The then Executive Director had misappropriated money and used it for her and her husband in Florida. There were other allegations.
They got a new director, but the program was tarnished.
Many are not old enough to remember the mess with OIC and the misappropriation of money that created a schism in the black religious community. I remember discussing this wit the Reverend Doctor Aldridge, who took the high road in this matter.
Then the black religious group who received Windmill Place and let it fail. Some of the same ministers that got federal money for home renovations and only spent it as salaries while accomplishing nothing.
And we can't forget the Eason-Young Jr. mess with Smith Village that has resulted in multi million dollar pay backs.
When are the citizens going to demand an end to this corruption? And we can't forget the Kildee and the Cherry's involvements in the Land Bank. Are the feds right and the corruption goes too high up?
And we can't forget the role of the Snyder administration and the downtown groups. |
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Sat Nov 30, 2013 9:19 am |
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