A prominent non-profit foundation has filed a lawsuit against a former employee, alleging serious misconduct and fraud. The Heinz Endowments filed the complaint in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on June 10, 2024, against Charles A. Richardson.
The case centers around allegations that Richardson, who was employed by The Heinz Endowments since 2014 and held the position of Senior Technology Advisor, engaged in a series of fraudulent activities that included embezzlement and unauthorized access to the organization’s IT systems. According to the complaint, Richardson was responsible for developing and managing all technological aspects of The Heinz Endowments’ operations. However, during an administrative leave starting in October 2023, Richardson allegedly used his access to misappropriate funds and tamper with evidence related to an internal investigation into his conduct.
The lawsuit claims that on December 19, 2023, after being informed about an audit concerning certain computer-related expenses he had incurred, Richardson accessed The Heinz Endowments' servers without authorization. During this unauthorized access, which lasted approximately 12 hours, he is accused of deleting thousands of emails and documents pertinent to the investigation. This act was allegedly intended to hinder the investigation into his misuse of financial resources.
Further investigations revealed that from 2016 to 2023, Richardson embezzled nearly $960,000 by billing The Heinz Endowments for services purportedly provided by his own company, Operations Unlimited (Ops Unlimited), which were either never performed or actually carried out by another vendor. Additionally, he is accused of selling computer servers owned by The Heinz Endowments and directing payments to Ops Unlimited. He also submitted falsified expense reports for IT hardware and software that were never received by The Heinz Endowments.
The Heinz Endowments is seeking various forms of relief from the court including damages exceeding $960,000 for conversion and fraudulent misrepresentation. They are also demanding punitive damages due to what they describe as Richardson's willful and malicious conduct. Furthermore, they seek the return of misappropriated funds and equipment as well as compensation for investigative costs incurred due to Richardson’s actions.
Representing The Heinz Endowments are attorneys Mariah H. McGrogan and Brianna L. Schmid from Reed Smith LLP. The case has been assigned Case ID No.: 24-838 under Judge Joy Flowers Conti.