PITTSBURGH - A charitable group in Allegheny County is suing a former employee that ran its computer system, claiming he forced his way into it to delete evidence of his wrongdoing.
The Heinz Endowments filed a lawsuit June 10 against former employee Charles A. Richardson in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
The complaint alleges that Richardson, who was employed as a Senior Technology Advisor, engaged in unauthorized access to the organization's IT systems and embezzled approximately $960,000 through his company, Ops Unlimited.
The suit alleges how Richardson accessed and deleted thousands of emails and documents to obstruct an internal investigation into his activities. Additionally, it is claimed that he submitted fraudulent expense reports and failed to return IT hardware and software purchased with The Heinz Endowments' funds.
The Heinz Endowments seeks damages for violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, conversion, fraudulent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, and breach of fiduciary duty.
Mariah McGrogan of Reed Smith represents the plaintiff.