Photo from the Collinwood & Nottingham Villages Development Corporation Facebook page
Cleveland, OH - A former executive director of a Cleveland community development corporation was arrested on Thursday for embezzling more than $172,000 from the Collinwood and Nottingham Villages Development Corporation.
Tamiko Parker, 46, of Cleveland, is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Cleveland. She has been indicted on one count of theft of federal funds.
Parker served as executive director of Collinwood and Nottingham Villages Development Corporation, a nonprofit organization that was to acquire, develop and lease property on the northeast side of Cleveland.
Parker misused various accounts through a variety of schemes including making unauthorized cash withdrawals, having checks issued to her and using debit and credit cards to pay her personal expenses. This took place between September 2014 through February 2016, according to court documents.
Parker used the community development corporation’s debit card to make purchases at Harley Davidson, the Horseshoe Casino, Victoria’s Secret and in Atlantic City and Las Vegas. She used the community development corporation’s credit card to purchase appliances at Home Depot for her home. Parker collected cash rental payments from tenants of the nonprofit and deposited cash into her personal account, according to court documents.
“This defendant betrayed the trust placed in her by a city and a community,” U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said. “Instead of using her position to spur redevelopment, she used it as a personal piggy bank to gamble and travel.”
“Ms. Parker stole hundreds of thousands of dollars planned for economic development in the community,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen D. Anthony. “The only thing Ms. Parker was developing was her lavish lifestyle. She will now be held accountable for being a thief.”
“Those funds were designated to improve the lives of the residents and business owners in the Collinwood neighborhood,” said Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley.
This case was investigated by the FBI and Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian M. McDonough and Carmen Henderson.