A former official of a St. Louis County charity faced indictment after being accused of embezzling nearly $700,000 which was intended to assist adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Joelle Fouse, who served as the manager/director of finance and human resources from October 2012 through December 2023, allegedly orchestrated a scheme to defraud the charity through various means, as outlined by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
According to a press release from the Department of Justice, Fouse was indicted last Wednesday, October 9 with three felony counts of wire fraud, and she plans to plead not guilty at her upcoming U.S. District Court appearance in St. Louis. The options for penalization, if convicted, include up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both for each charge. The indictment alleges that the former official exploited her position by making unauthorized transactions, including payroll payments to herself via a third-party processing company and charging personal expenses to the charity's credit card.
Detailed within the indictment are three primary methods employed by Fouse to siphon funds: fraudulent payroll payments, unauthorized expense payments, and personal use of the organization's credit card. The DOJ claims she pocketed $139,810 from 71 payroll payments, in addition to $407,186 from 181 expense payments, and made 184 credit card purchases totaling $133,210. Furthermore, these actions resulted in the charity overpaying roughly $10,694 in employer payroll taxes.
The litany of purchases made with the embezzled funds included not just day-to-day expenditures but also travel, clothing, entertainment, and restaurant bills – costs intended for the wellbeing of those with special needs now diverted to support the lavish lifestyle of the accused, as detailed in the indictment. Fouse also allegedly attempted to obscure her illicit activities by making false entries in the charity’s financial records. The FBI's investigation was prompted by the charity itself, which cooperated fully with federal investigators.
