A former Goodwill executive pleaded not guilty to federal charges of allegedly stealing more than $1.4 million from the charity’s Sacramento, California affiliate which he led for five years.
Richard Alan Abrusci, 45, entered his plea in Eastern District of California federal court in Sacramento last week after being indicted Nov. 16. The 12-page indictment was unsealed following his Dec. 7 arrest.
Abrusci, of South Lake Tahoe, California, could face life imprisonment and fines of up to $3 million if convicted on all counts. He is charged with nine counts of wire fraud each carrying a maximum of 20 years in prison and fine of up to $250,000; three counts of unlawful monetary transaction involving proceeds of criminal activity, each carrying up to a 10-year prison sentence and fine of up to $250,000; and a single charge of aggravated identity theft for which he could face an additional two years in prison.
Abrusci began working for Goodwill Industries of Sacramento Valley and Northern Nevada in 2014 and became its CEO in 2016. He later assumed the dual role of president and CEO in June 2018 before being terminated in July 2021.
Abrusci is accused of opening a bank account under a fictitious shell company’s name prior to his employment with Goodwill, which he allegedly later used to generate fraudulent invoices and purchase orders resulting in payments by the affiliate of more than $1.4 million into the account from 2016 through 2021. In one instance, Abrusci allegedly forged a letter purporting to be from the affiliate’s own attorney to convince its CFO to make the requested payments.
The billings were purportedly for information technology services, including technical assistance with call centers that the charity operated for the State of California during the pandemic, and additional assistance in facilitating settlement of a lawsuit by the state related to the charity’s disposal of hazardous wastes. However, the shell company listed on the documents “provided none of the services for which it billed the non-profit organization and its subsidiary,” according to a statement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento.
The discovery of “a series of questionable transactions” during a routine audit in 2021 prompted the Goodwill affiliate’s board of directors to commission an internal investigation and forensic audit that confirmed funds had been misappropriated, according to Sam Singer, an outside spokesperson retained to speak on the group’s behalf. “The board immediately terminated Mr. Abrusci and notified the Sacramento district attorney” who in turn notified the U.S. Department of Justice, Singer said.
Abrusci’s total reported compensation for the seven months he oversaw Goodwill’s Sacramento affiliate during 2021 was $297,440. For the prior year of 2020, his last full year of employment with the group, he received $632,011. The compensation is listed on the organization’s federal Form 990 filings for those years.
Leaders have since taken steps to strengthen financial oversight and procedures, according to Singer. The group’s most recent available filings showed revenue of $106.8 million with expenses of $86.6 million during 2021.
“Goodwill Sacramento is devoted to its mission of changing people’s lives through the power of work and holds dear the trust and relationships that we have built in this community,” Singer said. “Our dedicated team of employees is committed to continue upholding the mission, values and principles that have guided us for the last 90 years.”
The indictment unsealed omits direct references to Goodwill or its Sacramento affiliate by name, the latter of which is identified merely as an unnamed “non-profit.” However, Abrusci’s employment with the group is confirmed on the organization’s Form 990 filings for the relevant period and was also confirmed by Singer, who described the federal investigation as a direct result of the forensic audit results supplied to authorities by organizational leaders.
