A former official at a nonprofit with a headquarters in Brattleboro has pleaded guilty to a federal charge she embezzled about $425,000.
Carleena Graham, 56, of Accokeek, Maryland, pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court in Burlington to one count of wire fraud. Graham was released on conditions by Judge Geoffrey Crawford, awaiting a sentencing hearing Dec. 15.
Federal authorities filed a charging document against Graham late last month. According to the filing, the organization, World Learning, is a nonprofit global development and exchange entity that delivers “educational and professional training programs, and people-to-people exchange opportunities around the world.”
The organization, which has headquarters in Brattleboro and Washington, D.C., received millions of dollars in federal funding from the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
World Learning also operates the School for International Training, which offers opportunities to study abroad and master’s degrees in global issues.
According to the charging documents, World Learning hired Graham in 2014 as the director of human resources, and she was subsequently promoted to divisional vice president of human resources and then to vice president of human resources. In her position, the filing stated, Graham had access to the organization’s credit card.
From about 2016 through the middle of 2022, Graham orchestrated a scheme to defraud World Learning of hundreds of thousands of dollars, the charging documents stated.
“Graham arranged for goods and services to be delivered to the third-party organizations, and then fraudulently arranged for World Learning to pay for these goods and services via electronic transfers of funds from its Vermont bank account,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated in a press release.
As part of the scheme, Graham falsified invoices submitted by vendors for payment of the goods and services, the release added. “Graham often misused her access to World Learning’s credit cards to cause World Learning to pay the expenses incurred by the third-party organizations.”
World Learning sustained losses of about $425,000, the charging documents stated.
Graham faces up to 20 years in prison, though the actual sentence will be determined by Crawford, the judge, with reference to the federal sentencing guidelines and the United States Code.
In the plea agreement, the parties estimated that Graham’s advisory sentencing range of imprisonment is likely to be 27 to 33 months.
Christina Nolan, an attorney representing Graham, said Monday her client was remorseful and had already started paying back the money.
“She decided to plead guilty because she accepts responsibility,” Nolan said. “She paid already $200,000 in restitution because she feels remorseful.’
World Learning, in a statement Monday, said that no World Learning or School for International Training programs, program participants, students, alumni, or additional staff members were involved in the criminal activity.
“World Learning has extensive and well-established financial policies and procedures in place. It was because of our robust internal controls that the fraud was uncovered,” according the statement.
“Independent forensic investigators and external auditors confirmed that our internal controls and systems are of high standards,” the statement added. “World Learning cooperated fully with the United States Attorney’s Office throughout the investigation.”
