Former Nonprofit Director Steals from Mentorship Program

PETERSBURG, Ind.–A former Dubois County Nonprofit Director was sentenced to nearly two years in prison after admitting to stealing money from a youth mentorship program.

The Department of Justice says 50-year-old Ellen Corn of Petersburg stole roughly $161,000 via several methods, including by using the organization’s credit card to pay for personal expenses at various businesses and restaurants. Those included Amazon, Target, and Walmart. She also used the money to pay tuition to colleges for her children. These 1,226 unauthorized transactions went on from March 2017 to August 2022.

The nonprofit she stole from provides college scholarships for high school students. She pled guilty to five counts of wire fraud. She was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.

Corn ensured that the organization’s accounts had enough money to pay for her illegitimate expenses by reducing funding for certain departments and programs. In 2022, she also failed to notify a first-generation college student that the student was selected to receive a scholarship.

She hid he fraud by omitting the unauthorized transactions from the nonprofit’s accounting records, which she regularly presented to the Board of Directors and the organization’s tax preparer.

“Ellen Corn abused her position of trust and stole from an organization dedicated to serving and mentoring local youth. Her crimes not only harmed the program and its ability to serve young people but also betrayed the trust of the public who support and rely on its mission,” said Tom Wheeler, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “This sentence holds her accountable and demonstrates our commitment to protecting community nonprofits from fraud and financial exploitation.”

Former Dubois County Nonprofit Director Steals $161,000 from Youth Mentorship Program, Gets Prison Time  was originally published on wibc.com