MaryAnne Verfaillie Instructor: Prof Roberto Mandanici ACC960: Auditing I 20 April 2015 Angel Food Ministries Angel Food Ministries was a non-profit tax exempt 501© organization created by Joe and Linda Wingo that was tied into helping communities receive food and financial support all throughout the United States that was tied into churches but was non-denominational. It began in 1994 in a small area called Monroe, Georgia. It was helping 34 families when it started and grew to help hundreds of thousands of families monthly in up to 35 states. At one of its peak times of operation they were serving over 500,000 families each month. They mostly supplied food boxes at a flat fee and would supply fresh and frozen food which could …show more content…
usually feed a family of 4 for about a week, which was their stated mission per the IRS, to provide food to the nation’s needy at discounted prices (http://www.irs.gov/uac/Examples-of-Corporate-Fraud-Investigations-Fiscal-Year-2013). A box for $30 was approximately worth about $55 retail in a grocery store. Churches in the communities would be used as distribution centers and this was a part of their ministry and made it easier to be able to reach out to the communities with the churches help. Mainly it was a family owned and operated business. Along with Joe and Linda was their son, Andy. An employee named, Harry Michaels was also involved with the dealings of the business that helped lead it into felony charges. An employee, Jim Sherman, coordinated a local site for AFM and had spoken to Lebanon Daily News and they published a story in October, 2011. Per the Lebanon Daily News, Sherman said that AFM would occasionally change distribution dates at the last minute, forcing the local distribution sites to scramble (http://www.ldnews.com/ci_19065064). He felt that there was something going on with AFM that just wasn’t right and stopped all dealings with them and his church. Their church was affiliated with AFM for about 3 years and the community depended on them. Right after he did cut ties, there was news of AFM being investigated by the FBI. It seems that there was one big red flag that was detected and that was something a watchdog group found, called Ministry Watch. They found that in 2006, the leadership was paid very high salaries. Just 5 people within the leadership with the last name of Wingo made anywhere from $384,694 to $588,529. Just the fact that they all share the same last name is a giveaway but also the simple fact that normally large charities don’t even pay their highest management that high of a salary. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution and www.ldnews.com, they filed 2009 tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service indicating that AFM paid $1.06 million dollars to 3 family members: Joe Wingo received $697,037; his son, Jonathan Wesley Wingo received $265,195; and Linda Wingo was paid $100,480. Jonathan was listed as the director of pastoral ministries and chief information officer and Linda was listed as the director and corporate secretary. Obviously they all had their hands in the pot, so to speak, and knew what they were doing when they all took control of the finances and upper management duties. In 2009, Two board members took notice and they filed a suit against the Wingos claiming that they “enriched themselves through the nonprofit doing such things as using the company credit cards on personal items” (http://www.ldnews.com/ci_19065064). The suit was also about the Wingos taking kickbacks. Per the Fulton County News, the suit alleged that the Wingos enriched themselves by at least $2.7 million which included a $600,000 “housing allowance” where they had the funds directed to their church and they used the funds from there. The suit also alleged that Joe Wingo set up a North Carolina corporation to buy a personal jet and then leased the jet to AFM for a profit of $10,000 a month (http://www.fultoncountynews.com/news/2009-03-12/front_page/005.html). During this suit, the Wingos were using AFM funds to pay the attorneys and according to tax documents filed with the IRS in 2010, they had spent more than $4.7 million in legal fees in 2008-2009 (Burke, Melissa Nann). Per http://www.christianpost.com, in December, 2011 AFM was charged with a 49-count indictment against the Wingos for about $1.5 million dollars and claimed they bought clothes, shoes, jewelry, sporting goods, a classic car and a down payment on a jet aircraft.
These things came to light after the two board members filed a suit against them in 2009 and part of the agreement for that suit was to have a forensic financial audit of the ministry and cancel the company credit cards that belonged to the Wingos. Also the company that was formed by Joe for the jet had to be signed over to …show more content…
AFM. Per www.christianpost.com, the Wingos were using AFM credit cards for personal purchases and also giving vendors kickbacks to charge more for products and keeping the difference. The vendors were allegedly told they would probably lose their business if they didn’t go along with it. During the investigation against the Wingos, Linda told an employee to destroy a computer’s hard drive. Also, prosecutors said that Joe also tried concealing the misapplication of the charity’s funds by issuing bonuses to relatives. By 2013, the Wingos plead guilty to fraud and money laundering.
Their partner, Harry Michaels also plead guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Joe and Andy Wingo ended up receiving 7 year sentences and that was a plea deal because Joe was facing possibly 105 years in prison and Linda 85 years. Linda Wingo made a plea deal and received 5 years of probation. Joe also had to forfeit more than $1.5 million dollars and pay $15,000 in fines. “Andy admitted to using his position as chief operating officer and head of procurement to buy a house with the charity’s money”, per USA today (www.usatoday.com). Andy had to forfeit $2.4 million dollars. Linda was ordered to pay a $25,000 criminal
fine. For 17 years Angel Food Ministries was helping less fortunate families put affordable food on their tables and worked with many churches and communities and gave the impression that they were a part of a religious group. This was a great idea and something that many people embraced. Unfortunately, they took advantage of that stigma and stole from many and took advantage of the kindness of many that gave to help the people in need. "The Wingos exploited family, friends and neighbors by perpetrating a scheme that was based on lies," Internal Revenue Service Special Agent In Charge Veronica Hyman-Pillot said in a statement, per USA today. Not only were families hurt by the abrupt stop of help with food but also communities, churches and many mixed emotions from all levels. Volunteers found it to be a great time to get together with each other, as per www.ldnews.com. Also, per www.ldnews.com, Eileen Sites, host site director at Millcreek said, "All the volunteers from the different churches were great. It turned out that we were not only helping families, but it turned out to be a social kind of a get-together for all of the volunteers. We got together every month and got to talk." I’m sure that this hurt many people on different levels and even though some people tried to keep the communities fed, it just was never the same and never has anyone seen the same capacity of charity like this since it’s been gone.
The Susan G. Komen Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating breast cancer, suffered a PR disaster four years ago and has yet to recover from the bad press of this unpopular decision. In 2012, the Susan G. Komen Foundation decided to end their financial support of Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest provider of family reproductive services (including abortion). This action resulted in an immediate public backlash and ignited a fierce political debate. In the middle of this controversy, the New York Times published an article in which women who had previously participated in the Susan G. Komen cancer walk were asked their opinion of the decision to cut Planned Parenthood funding. Sarah Robertson, who completed the 39.3-mile walk last year stated “I personally wouldn’t walk for Komen,” citing the
The actions of Ms. Ephonia Green created a financial setback for the Association of American Medical Colleges but it was determined Ms. Green did not embezzle money that were obtain through federal funding or any other grants. Ms. Green’s actions were of a substantial magnitude, AAMC expects to make a full recovery from this incident. As part of her plea agreement, Ms. Green has been ordered to forfeit any and all property, to include her home, the sale of her business, the condo, her vehicle, and her 401k. Sentencing is scheduled for February 28, 2014 where Ms. Green faces up to 20 years in prison however under sentencing guideline to the plea; it could be reduced to 4 years.
After volunteering three times with the social action committee and high school group from Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church in the previous years, the Houston Food Bank became very familiar both in regards of their history and how their volunteerism works. The Houston Food Bank is a non-profit organization that seeks donations of non-perishable food items to serve the low-income families in eighteen counties across Texas. However, during a recent trip to the food bank with the University of Houston-Downtown College of Business, the interactions with a larger group of classmates became more dynamic. Three main topics involving group work at the Houston Food Bank are service learning, community service, and volunteerism. Service learning
Non-Profit organizations are a major mold in society in general, and they continue to help advance many of the social causes of our time. From the description, we know that employee and volunteer morale is quite low, and that is the fault of the senior management. In an organization, it is important that each individual knows that they are contributing to something larger than themselves. In many cases, employees seek to work somewhere where they can earn a living, but also where they can become a member of a team, and feel a sense of purpose. When they are not treated with respect or given the ability to make their own decisions, they lose engagement and become stagnant in their work. Volunteers look for much of the same thing; they are, after
The mission of the agency is to “provide for the needs of hungry people by gathering and sharing quality food with dignity, compassion, and education”. Volunteers were there to restock the shelves and bag the food for the clients. The staff duties consisted of interviewing clients and making sure the facility ran smoothly. Harvest Hope serves a diverse population residing within Lexington, West Columbia, and Cayce.
According to the “Hunger and Poverty Fact Sheet” on Feeding America’s website, in 2014 there were over 48 million Americans living in food insecure households, which included 32 million adults and 15 million children. For over 35 years, Feeding America continues to be in the forefront in solving this crisis by providing food to people in need through a nationwide network of food banks. In the late 1960s, Van Hengel established the nation’s first food bank and years later established the first national organization of food banks, Second Harvest. Second Harvest was later called America’s Second Harvest the Nation’s Food Bank Network and in 2008, the national organization changed its name to Feeding America.
The main challenge is to determine how Panera Bread can continue to achieve high growth rates in the future. Panera Bread is operating in an extremely high competitive restaurant market which forces the company to improve and to grow steadily for staying profitable. The company’s mission statement of putting “a loaf of bread in every arm” is just underlying Panera’s commitment for growing. They are now in a good financial situation and facing growth rates of up to 20% per year in a niche market that has a great growth potential. In the next 7 years the fast-casual market is expected to grow by 500% in sales to a total of $30 billion.
I chose to do my service learning project at Feed My Starving Children. I chose this service learning project because I had prior knowledge and experience by doing it with my family and church. Feed My Starving Children has been a huge impact to those who have participated in this service experience because their mission is to pack meals that go to very hungry children around the world. Being from a single parent family, it is hard for us to not be concerned about where the money for food is coming from, yet we have food on our tables for everyday meals. Therefore, I can’t imagine what it is like for those who experience hunger.
Consulting for the Caring Angel Hospital Working in the health care industry takes a lot of courage and patience in order to deal with different individual’s personalities and to be equipped to handle stressful situations according to the issues at hand. As a senior consultant at the Practical Health Care Consulting firm, my supervisor has instructed me to spend three months at the Caring Angel Hospital. While at the hospital there are a few tasks for improving the quality of care, adding value to the organization, improving employee morale, etc. Although these obstacles will be a challenge, there is an opportunity for improvement. This will allow the Caring Angel Hospital to increase revenue and accomplish the goals that are established.
In efforts to eliminate hunger in the Austin Community, Hope Church operates a food pantry that provides food and supplies to local residents within the 60651 and 60644 postal zip codes. The Pantry is operated by a friendly volunteer staff who’s there to be a blessing to others! The hope food pantry is a non-profit organization which distributes food to a variety of community agencies which serve the people in need. Last year alone, over 1 million pounds of food was distributed throughout our community. The hope food pantry also host special events to raise money and food for our community. For every dollar raised, the food pantry can provide ten meals to the needy.
Dean Foods is a food and beverage company that specializes in dairy products, based out of Dallas, Texas. Dean Foods manufactures and distributes a wide variety of branded and private label dairy products. The products include milk, ice cream, creamers, and cultured dairy products. The Company is one of the nation's largest processors and distributors of fluid milk with about 75 plants located throughout the United States. They are made up of about 19,000 employees and in 2012 their nets sales reached 11.4 billion dollars. The company was founded by Dean R. Honas who owned an evaporated milk processing plant in Illinois back in the 1920s. Dean purchased other Illinois dairy plants and developed his enterprise from a small regional dairy distributor to a successful food company. The company is also known for their sustainability efforts over the past 8 years.
According to the Panera Bread website (2011), the company mission is simply “A loaf of bread in every arm.” (para 7).
Red Cross, Josea’s feed the hungry and UNICE- what do they all have in common? They are all nonprofit organizations. Throughout the world, but especially in the United States nonprofit organizations are very important and a necessity for many cities. It has become one of the main focuses for a growing amount of majors and studies for many people. With more than 8 million employees and more than 80 million volunteers in the United States alone nonprofit are some of the most important job in recent times (Drucker). The importance of many nonprofit organizations could be the difference between many people’s lives and their deaths. The importance of nonprofit organizations is growing throughout the United States day by day. The fact that nonprofits are built solely on helping the people throughout your community and neighboring communities make nonprofits important based on that fact in itself. Nonprofit provide places to sleep when maybe a family has nowhere to go or somewhere to have a hot meal. This could be someone in your family, a close friend or even a distant neighbor but in all people are people and help is help so the reasons for nonprofit being important are ongoing.
Due to such lack of monitoring, management continued to be unaware of such transactions that continued to impact the company negatively. This provided the Rigas family many opportunities to override controls since the lack of corporate governance enabled the decisions to be made by Rigas family without oversight. For example, the article “Adelphia Officials are Arrested, Charged with ‘Massive’ Fraud” discuses how Timothy Rigas had to limit himself to $1 million a month of compensation that was withdrawn from the company for personal use. All decisions were continuously made by such members of the family, in which case for Adelphia, was the team of management. With the lack of controls creating opportunity, they were free to do what they wished- which is something they took incredible advantage
Bom between 1945-1964 (2). They are considered to be in the middle adult category, ages 24 through 50. Often described as generation that refused to “grow up.” Still others describe them as the generation that changed the world in this century. Their receptiveness to the Gospel and sharing of the same makes them a fertile field for evangelism. Often called “Millennials”, their “practice” of evangelism is on the rise. In a 3 year period form 2010 to 2013, millennials had a +9% increase when compared to other age groups in the same survey time frame. (57% to 65%). This is in many ways attributed to the fact the Boomers are very family oriented and gear their lives around social government and education, bonding and fellowship. Effective evangelism in today’s church has to cross age groups and social lines as well as economic salary differences per house hold. Thee appeal of the Gospel in today’s church has much to do with presentation and communication. Witnessing individually and corporately. The most unreached Americans are Millennial youths. So it comes as no surprise that youth ministry is a priority for many churches. Six in 10 (61 %) senior pastors say youth ministry is “one of the top priorities” of their church’s ministry, and 7 percent say it is the single highest priority. However, despite a clear majority, one-third of pastors (32%) say it is either somewhat, not too much, or not at all a priority.