No records, deleted texts: Overland Park police board alleges ‘coverup’ of misuse of funds
In a scathing statement, board members of the Overland Park Police Officers Foundation said they are disappointed no criminal charges will be filed against four officers accused of repeatedly using the charity’s funds for “their own personal use and self-interest.”
Vanessa Riebli, the foundation’s attorney, said that Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe’s decision not to charge the officers “should cause concern for all Johnson County charitable organizations and businesses if that is the new standard of review by his office for this type of crime.”
The attorney on Tuesday released the 82-page audit that launched an investigation into the officers’ use of the foundation’s charity funds while they served as board members. The auditors found that there were numerous unauthorized payments to former board members, casting it as theft under state law.
The alleged misconduct included granting school scholarships to board members in violation of the foundation’s bylaws. The funds were put directly in two board members’ pockets, rather than sent to the academic institutions in which they were enrolled. The auditor questioned whether the payments were for legitimate academic expenses.
In addition, board members were given financial assistance meant for officers and their families following “catastrophic injury or death,” for expenses such as veterinarian bills, according to the district attorney’s office.
In one case, there was a $1,500 check for a “donation to a family,” but it was written out to a former board member rather than a family, according to the audit.
The police officers — Sgt. Brandon Faber, Officer Brad Heater, Sgt. Rachel Scattergood and Sgt. Tim Tinnin — were placed on paid administrative leave in May 2022. Howe’s investigation found the four officers, all leaders of the charity, directly received around $15,540 from the foundation. However, according to the audit released by the foundation on Tuesday, the officers received more than $27,000 for their own benefit.
Despite clear evidence the officers violated charity’s bylaws concerning “self-dealing and self-enrichment,” Howe said he could not prove the officers knowingly collected money for unauthorized expenses or misused funds on purpose.
“To charge the Board members with theft, this office would have to prove, by the standard of beyond a reasonable doubt, that the past Board members either knowingly obtained the money by deceptive means, or knowingly exerted unauthorized control over Foundation funds,” Howe previously said.
The audit also found a major lack of record-keeping by charity leadership, including missing meeting minutes, treasurer reports and bank records. Howe cited the lack of documents as an insurmountable hindrance to his investigation, saying it made it impossible for him to determine the officers’ motivation and intent.
The officers wiped their electronic devices clean of any data, according to the district attorney’s office. The four officers’ lawyers also prevented them from being interviewed by the district attorney’s office, Howe said.
Riebli said in the foundation’s statement that, “The extensive efforts made by former board members ranging from not maintaining required board minutes to deleting emails, text messages and other records, relating to these expenditures, in our opinion, shows a clear intent to coverup any wrongdoing.”
She added that, “these officers had a duty to the public, who donated to the Foundation, as well as to the officers these donations were intended to help during crisis, to act within the scope of the by-laws.”
Meg Ralph, spokeswoman for Overland Park, said the officers remain on administrative leave pending an internal city investigation.
Riebli said that foundation activities remain suspended while the board “works to guarantee the proper internal controls are in place to make certain funds are used for the intended purpose of helping officers in crisis and improving relationships with the public through community outreach.”
“As police officers,” she said, “the current Foundation Board believes officers need to be held to a higher standard to ensure the public’s trust, especially in the current climate between police and the public they serve.”
While Howe has declined to charge the officers criminally, he has left the door open for civil proceedings. Howe said last week that the Kansas Attorney General’s Office is looking into whether the foundation’s actions violate the Kansas Charitable Organizations and Solicitations Act, in which case a civil action may still be brought against the four officers.
Audit’s findings
The Overland Park Police Officers Foundation was established as a charitable nonprofit in 2016, with the mission of helping officers and their families facing financial issues after injury or death and to fund educational opportunities.
Fraternal Order of Police members questioned the charity’s spending and disbursement of funds. And following allegations of misconduct, a new board took over last year and organized a forensic audit of the charity’s books.
The findings of the audit were forwarded to Howe’s office, kickstarting the criminal investigation, as the police charity temporarily shuttered.
According to the audit, the foundation spent more than $27,000 on food and dining purchases; $75,000 on lodging expenses and $67,600 on gift cards. It also paid Outreach Marketing more than $1.2 million. Public tax records show a majority of funds collected by Outreach Marketing on behalf of police officers went to Outreach.
However, the audit also concluded that former foundation board members did not cooperate with the investigation and failed to provide the auditor with board meeting minutes or receipts.
“The lack of accountability and controls was striking,” the audit said.
“This lack of transparency from prior board members is at best a critical failure in record-keeping, and at worse an indicator of a desire to conceal their activity,” the audit later read.
The audit also revealed that the family of Mike Mosher, who served on the foundation’s board until he was killed in the line of duty in May 2020, received more than $219,000. His father Scott Mosher, who was elected to the Overland Park City Council in 2021, received more than $108,000 while additional family members received other donations.
Criminal investigation
Howe began investigating allegations of misconduct in spring 2022, a process that he said was greatly hampered by a lack of documents and meeting minutes that should have been recorded per the foundation’s bylaws. The officers also had wiped their electronic devices clean of any data, according to the district attorney’s office.
Howe’s investigation determined that board members violated the foundation’s bylaws that prohibit self-dealing and self-enrichment.
One issue was the disbursement of scholarship funds. The foundation began awarding scholarships in 2017, initially aimed to help children of FOP members with their undergraduate education. But it was later expanded to include scholarships for FOP members in graduate programs.
The foundation’s bylaws prohibited the distribution of scholarship funds to members of the board. The committee overseeing the program, however, awarded scholarships in 2021 to Faber and Scattergood while they were board members.
He also said the scholarships awarded that year did not match the actual amount of funds distributed. That discrepancy is not documented in any business records.
Also, the scholarships were typically paid directly to the educational institution, Howe said, but both Faber and Scattergood were “paid directly” by the foundation.
Howe determined the scholarship committee was not aware of the bylaws.
“Through our investigation, we determined that Scholarship Committee members were not aware of this Section of the bylaws and thus were not aware they were committing any violations,” Howe wrote.
Another issue is the offering of financial assistance to board members.
The foundation’s stated purpose is to assist families in financial distress following “catastrophic injury or death,” but the organization began granting officers money for other situations, such as medical, dental and veterinarian bills, which could fall under the bylaws, Howe said.
But Howe found that board members received such financial assistance on multiple occasions, violating the bylaws.
Faber received $3,000 in “officer assistance,” along with a $1,000 scholarship. Scattergood received more than $4,500 in assistance, including more than $1,000 for a veterinarian bill. She also received a $2,000 scholarship.
Heater received $4,000 in “officer assistance,” while Tinnin received $1,000.
Howe determined that when complaints about the financial awards arose, “text messages of the former Board members revealed discussions that they believed they were only receiving payments for things that all FOP members, including themselves, were eligible to receive, and therefore they believed there was no wrongdoing on their part.”
Complaints also were made by FOP members regarding board members using funds for out-of-state trips. One concern involved the board working with the organization Surf Waves Enjoy Life, or SWEL, which provides first responders with meditation and yoga trips. Scattergood is listed as SWEL’s treasurer on its website.
Howe found that board members attended functions that were paid for by SWEL, “but it is unclear from the records reviewed in this investigation if Foundation funds were used for the SWEL trips. Ultimately, the Foundation made three $1,000.00 contributions to SWEL and conducted some joint fundraisers, for which they split the receipts equally.”
City officials are also investigating whether any city policies were violated.
