May 4, 2006 | Read Time: 2 minutes
The United Way of New York City has reached an agreement with its former leader, Ralph Dickerson Jr., to repay $227,000 that the charity said Mr. Dickerson spent on personal expenses in 2002 and 2003.
The United Way said Mr. Dickerson benefited from a program by which donors gave points toward free hotel stays to the charity. The points were to be used by United Way executives or by officials of other charities for travel related to their organizations’ missions. For example, a church group from Alabama that did volunteer work in New York used hotel points for its stay.
After employees in January discovered that Mr. Dickerson had apparently used $190,000 worth of hotel points for travel unrelated to United Way business, Lawrence Mandell, who succeeded him as chief executive officer, and the United Way board hired outside law and accounting firms to conduct a detailed audit of spending by Mr. Dickerson and other executives.
The audit found an additional $37,000 worth of improper travel and entertainment expenses claimed by Mr. Dickerson, in addition to the donated hotel points, United Way officials said. The audit did not uncover any wrongdoing by other charity executives.
Mr. Dickerson did not return calls a reporter made last week seeking comment.
Steps to Curtail Fraud
The New York United Way said that since it discovered the wrongdoing by Mr. Dickerson, it has taken steps to prevent financial abuses by employees, including creating an internal audit department to more closely monitor spending. It also plans to teach its employees how to recognize problem spending, and will hire an outside company to which whistleblowers can report suspected abuses.
New York’s United Way raises more money than any other United Way. It took in $133.1-million in 2004, the year that Mr. Dickerson retired.
After retiring, Mr. Dickerson returned to the United Way of New York City to work for a year as a consultant. Most of his work involved helping with the overhaul of the United Ways of the Greater Tri-State Area, a regional organization of United Ways in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey.
