UNISON says external audit finds no evidence of embezzlement
Social service nonprofit UNISON, which was rocked by the arrest in late November of its former chief executive officer, said Wednesday that an external audit found no evidence of embezzlement.
In a news release, UNISON said Wegner CPAs conducted an external audit of the organization's financial records from 2016 and 2017.
The statement said the "audit findings are consistent with UNISON's internal investigation, which concluded that no funds have left the organization and there is no indication of embezzlement."
UNISON did not make the audit publicly available although it said it is sharing the findings with its various funders and donors.
UNISON's former chief executive, Laurene Gramling Lambach, was jailed for two days in November but not charged. A search warrant by the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office said the investigation found probable cause that Lambach had committed theft by fraud by taking county grant money for computers that were never purchased.
Lambach has denied the accusations.
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UNISON was formed last year from the merger of Milwaukee’s Interfaith Older Adult Programs and SET Ministry. It operated five senior centers under contract with the Milwaukee County Department on Aging.
But the county cut its ties with UNISON late last year and those centers are now operated by a new group, Serving Older Adults of Southeast Wisconsin.
Cathy Young, formerly vice president of program services, was promoted to executive director after Lambach's resignation.
Young said the external audit suggested improvements for some of UNISON's accounting and financial policies but added the report found no indication of criminal activity.
“We were assured that the bookkeeping discrepancies brought to light by the audit do occur in nonprofits who balance grants from multiple sources, and we are working to remedy them in an appropriate manner,” Young said in a statement. “It’s unfortunate that hasty actions and ill-informed statements have improperly and without any basis in fact impugned the integrity of UNISON.”
UNISON remains in operation, providing programs to stem isolation among older adults.