The Attorney General’s Office has filed a petition in court to remove the board of directors of an Upper Valley nonprofit, claiming it allowed the organization’s director to inflate her own salary, pad her expense reimbursements and mismanage money for years.
Attorney General Bill Sorrell’s office responded to complaints from within Emerge Family Advocates in White River Junction about lack of financial oversight and poor governance, according to a news release from Sorrell’s office.
As a result, Sorrell’s office filed a petition in Windsor Superior Court to remove members of Emerge’s governing board for violating their duties as board members or for gross abuse of discretion, court documents show.
The Attorney General’s Office also requested a preliminary injunction to halt Emerge’s provision of services and prevent it from spending more charitable assets until the court appoints a special trustee to review Emerge’s finances and report back on how to proceed, Sorrell’s office said.
Emerge was founded in 1996 and provides supervised visitation and supervised child exchange between parents for families in the Upper Valley. The organization is almost exclusively funded by state grants from Vermont and New Hampshire.
Raymona “Mona” Russell is the executive director and only full-time staff member at Emerge, and has worked there since 1996, according to the court filing.
Russell allegedly wrote and authorized her own paychecks, paying herself several times in the same pay period, paying herself weeks or months in advance and paying herself multiple times for the same pay period, according to the petition.
Russell also paid herself between $5,000 and $10,000 above her board-approved salary, the petition alleges, along with several other complaints.
Russell did not immediately return a call for comment Tuesday evening after Sorrell’s office announced its filing.
The attorney general’s petition alleges that although Emerge continued to provide services, the board repeatedly failed to provide necessary independent oversight over the organization’s finances, “essentially giving the executive director free rein to expend the charity’s assets.”
Emerge’s board has not been granted access to financial records or bank statements and has not developed or approved an annual budget for at least two years, the petition alleges. Emerge spends about $200,000 each year, 90 percent of which comes from public sources, according to the petition.
Emerge’s four-member board is made up of Joseph Verdine of Enfield, N.H.; Muriel Farrington of White River Junction; Thomas Trunzo of Lebanon, N.H.; and Johanna Jaspersohn of Lyme, N.H.
In Vermont, Emerge is funded through the Center for Crime Victim Services, which has indicated it will not continue funding Emerge until Sorrell’s office concludes its investigation, Emerge obtains an audit of its accounts and the board increases financial oversight, the petition says. A New Hampshire counterpart has indicated the same, it said.
Emerge has not had a full, independent audit since it was incorporated 18 years ago, the petition alleges.
The petition also describes internal conflict within the board of directors and its inability to operate effectively.
Vermont law requires that board members perform their official duties in a manner that reasonably serves the best interest of the charity and gives the attorney general power to request a removal of board members who fail to do so.
The majority of Emerge’s funding comes from the state of New Hampshire so Sorrell’s office is working with the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Charitable Trusts Unit, Sorrell’s office said.
