Central Sc Habitat for Humanity

“In june of 2023 central south carolina habitat for humanity (cschfh) discovered suspicious financial activity within the organization. Cschfh commenced an investigation and determined quickly that the now-former finance and operations director, ashley clark ingram applied for an employee retention tax credit for retaining employees during the covid-19 pandemic from the irs on behalf of cschfh. She then embezzled those funds and an additional 154,140 from cschfh, all of this without cschfh's knowledge or approval. Ingram was charged, plead guilty, and was sentenced with these crimes on february 11th, 2025. The sentence includes two years in federal prison followed by two years of probation, a 10,000 fine, and a 100 special assessment. In total, ingram misappropriated approximately 514,672.37 from cschfh and the united states government. Throughout the entirety of the process cschfh cooperated with law enforcement and the us attorney's office. The incident was included during the 2023 audit and the auditor determined that this occurrence was not a failure of controls but the ill intent of an individual. Ingram took advantage of the trust and power that a position such as hers held; this was also done at a time when the executive director was on maternity leave. Owing to the existing controls, this fraud was quickly detected upon the executive director's return from leave, and mrs. Ingram was terminated. Although it was not a failure of controls that caused this occurrence, since ingram's termination, cschfh has: consolidated its accounts for ease of cash transparency, provided the executive director digital access to financial records in real-time, integrated a credit card reporting system with instant supervisor visibility, and implemented a two-person check receipt process.”

“The form 990 was prepared by an independent accounting firm. The form 990 was provided to the finance committee for initial approval and was then provided to the board of directors electronically or provided at a board meeting.”

“Each board member is required to sign the conflict of interest policy annually.”

“The compensation of the organization's top management is reviewed by the board of directors and/or executive committee. The compensation review is based on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, the education, experience, qualifications and prior performance of the employee; the expertise required by the position; the compensation paid to similarly-qualified persons in functionally-comparable positions; and the compensation offered by organizations similar to central sc habitat. Comparable salary information is obtained from compensation studies conducted by employer and human resources organizations as well as other habitat for humanity affiliates.”

“The compensation of the organization's top management and key employees is reviewed by the board of directors and/or executive committee. The compensation review is based on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, the education, experience, qualifications and prior performance of the employee; the expertise required by the position; the compensation paid to similarly-qualified persons in functionally-comparable positions; and the compensation offered by organizations similar to central sc habitat. Comparable salary information is obtained from compensation studies conducted by employer and human resources organizations as well as other habitat for humanity affiliates.”

“Photocopies of the governing documents, financial statements, and conflict of interest policy are available upon request at the administrative office of the organization. The financial statements and the form 990 are also available on the organization's website, www.habitatcsc.org.”

“Event expenses netted 28,497 event income netted against expense -28,497”