Alternatives Living’s Management Used Public Funds For Personal Purposes

Alternatives Living, Inc. senior officers Melanie Duplechain, Ricky Roberson, and Ada Craige-Roberson incurred expenses totaling $133,164 that appear to be personal in nature, according to an audit report issued Monday by Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera’s office.

These expenses included purchases of sporting and entertainment event tickets, lease of a luxury vehicle, purchase of a different luxury vehicle, personal travel, and college tuition payments, the state auditor’s report said.

Alternatives Living, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation based in New Orleans. It was founded for charitable, educational, and scientific purposes, including providing housing for the homeless, elderly, veterans, and others.

From March 10, 2010 to December 27, 2013, Alternatives Living incurred expenses totaling $247,925 for which there was little or no documentation to support the business purpose of the expenses. These expenses included checks payable to “Cash,” fuel station purchases, and meals at local restaurants, among others. Auditors were not able to determine the business purpose, necessity, or reasonableness of these expenses, or if the expenses benefitted Alternatives Living’s corporate mission, the report said.

Auditors also found that Alternatives Living improperly billed the Department of Health and Hospitals’ Permanent Supportive Housing program $2,024 for administrative labor costs that it simultaneously billed to other programs. Alternatives Living also billed the PSH program for an administrative assistant whose work appears to have included non-PSH responsibilities. “By billing DHH for these labor costs, Alternatives Living may have violated its contract with DHH and may be required to reimburse DHH for amounts improperly billed,” the report said.

In its response to the audit, Alternatives Living management stated that after it was discovered that there were some past purchases “that were deemed personal in nature, a plan was developed for those employees to reimburse the agency.”