Hello dear and faithful supporters:

It is with a saddened heart that I bring you up to date on a recent situation at Casa Youth Shelter. Most likely you have already seen the unfortunate story in the papers about how Casa, one of its support groups and I were victims of theft and forgery. Because the investigation is underway it would be irresponsible for me to say anything that could jeopardize the outcome of this case.

I can tell you it began with a call from our bank saying there was a problem with an electronic account. Because we don't have such an account, I asked them to fax the checks in question, and when I saw the signatures, which were clearly forgeries, I was almost sick to my stomach because I recognized the handwriting. It was apparent this was a serious matter.

It appears as though for some time, perhaps as much as two years, an employee who had no check signing authorization, has engaged in activities which included check forgery, theft and fraudulent use of credit cards. Unauthorized accounts had been opened at a home address.

The same afternoon, I called an emergency meeting of the executive board. They all responded immediately and within ninety minutes we were assembled in what would become our task group. To cover the aspects of criminal matters, the court system and forensic accounting, we are fortunate to have past chief of the Los Alamitos Police Department, Mike McCrary; Rutan and Tucker partner, Steve Ellis; and Gary Howard, CPA and forensic accountant. I couldn't ask for a finer team of professionals, and they also happen to be hard-working board members who have a heart for our cause.

Our game plan was multifold:

• File a police report to get the criminal investigation underway.
• Terminate the person immediately.
• Begin a time-consuming check-by-check audit of all our accounts, and obtaining past credit card statements to determine the full extent of the loss. Early indications are that the amount in question is in the range of at least $200,000.

Most important are the kids. We've served 10,000 children and 38,000 family members to date and you can be assured that our work will continue. The children in our care will not suffer for this, nor will they miss any classes, counseling or therapy sessions. And we intend to proceed with the exercise and sports court as Myldred would have wanted.

For some 30 years, we've bent over backwards to be squeaky clean and we're saddened that a non-profit Shelter would be used for personal gain. All of this happened the week of Thanksgiving, and as emotionally devastating as it was, we have much to be thankful for. The Board was wise enough to seek endowments and strong investments, so we're stable financially. We have a wonderful staff continuing their diligent work with the children. And let's never forget that our founder, Myldred had issues far more difficult than this when she founded the Shelter, and she grew in strength for it. We'll do the same.

--Luciann Maulhardt, Executive Director