The operators of a domestic violence shelter in Harrisburg are accused of falsifying records to obtain state and federal grants, and stealing charitable funds for personal profit.
The suspects are Barbara Wingo, 76, of Golconda, and her daughter, Terrie Wingo-Eichorn, 50, of Elizabethtown. According to the charges filed in Saline County, they're accused of ordering employees at the Anna Bixby Center to falsify documents to show the center was providing domestic violence counseling.
The grant providers were the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, the Attorney General's office, the Illinois Department of Human Services, the Illinois Coalition against Domestic Violence, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
"The bottom line is that state and federal grant funds, what we allege, were used for the directors of this center's personal profit, as opposed to actually providing domestic violence services, which are critical," said Natalie Bauer of the Illinois Attorney General's office.
Other accusations contained in the charges:
- That the defendants committed loan fraud in submitting false documents to obtain a $100,000 loan for Salon 716 in Harrisburg, which is owned by their company. The documents allegedly claimed that the women's center received donations from the salon.
- That the defendants used $1,800 in charitable funds to purchase personal items, including a TV.
- That Wingo-Eichorn stole portions of donations to the center that were awarded to benefit abused children during the 2013 Christmas season
The two women are charged with a variety of felonies. The center serves Gallatin, Pope, Saline and White counties.
