Kansas City police have opened a criminal investigation into possible fraud and embezzlement connected to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City. The investigation began before the abrupt departure of longtime president and CEO Carlos Gomez earlier this year. No charges have been announced, and the organization has not publicly detailed what triggered the scrutiny.
According to FOX4, the Kansas City Police Department's financial crimes unit began investigating possible fraud and embezzlement after chamber representatives contacted KCPD, a report that led to the formal launch of the investigation. Gomez had served as the chamber's president and CEO before the organization underwent a leadership transition that raised questions about its finances and his departure.
The timeline of that exit carries a wrinkle. The station's report places Gomez's resignation and the chamber's announcement of a leadership transition on June 20, 2026, while the Kansas City Business Journal reported that Gomez departed after 19 years leading the organization and that Helen Ortiz-Turley was named interim president and CEO on June 24, 2026 — a detail Kansas City Business Journal reported with low confidence relative to the other account. Either way, Ortiz-Turley has since been installed as interim president and CEO of the chamber.
Missing Tax Filings Surfaced in the Records
FOX4 reviewed publicly available IRS financial records and found that the chamber's required annual filings have been unavailable publicly with the IRS for the past four years. Those same records show the organization failed to file required returns for 2017, 2018 and 2019, and the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status in 2019 as a result, the outlet reported.
Federal law requires tax-exempt organizations to file annual information returns or notices with the IRS to maintain their exemption, and the Internal Revenue Service automatically revokes tax-exempt status for groups that skip those filings for three consecutive years. The chamber has since had its tax-exempt status reinstated, per the same account from FOX4's review.
FOX4 said it contacted Carlos Gomez for comment on the investigation and his departure, but he did not respond to the outlet's requests for comment. The chamber itself did not respond to FOX4's inquiries about the missing filings and its earlier loss of tax-exempt status, according to the station's reporting.
Leadership Transition
The chamber underwent a leadership transition in June.
A Similar Pattern Playing Out in Michigan
Kansas City's case echoes a situation unfolding at the American Arab Chamber of Commerce in Michigan, where state law enforcement officials are investigating what happened to a portion of a $3.4 million state grant awarded to an affiliated business incubator, according to the Macomb Daily. That chamber fired its former executive director, Bilal Hammoud, in August after discovering organizational funds that could not be accounted for, and Michigan's Attorney General's Office has confirmed it is investigating allegations that Hammoud may have misused, embezzled or redirected grant funds.
The American Arab Chamber responded by retaining the law firm Warner Norcross + Judd to conduct an independent external investigation, while Michigan's State Budget Office deactivated the grant account at issue to prevent further activity. That chamber has said its programs, including its Tejara business incubator, would continue without disruption despite the ensuing investigations — a posture similar to the one Kansas City's Hispanic Chamber has taken as its own inquiry proceeds.
No criminal charges have been announced in connection with the KCPD investigation, and it remains unclear what specific transactions or amounts investigators are examining. FOX4 said it will provide the latest developments as more information emerges.
