COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – A former high-ranking official at a South Carolina nonprofit is set to be sentenced after pleading guilty to the theft of government funds.
34-year-old Ashley Ingram, who served as the Director of Finance and Operations for Habitat for Humanity of Central South Carolina, is appearing at the Matthew J. Perry Federal Courthouse at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Ingram received checks from the U.S. Treasury after applying for an employee retention tax credit during the COVID-19 pandemic. This credit provided approved businesses with funds to keep employees on their payroll.
According to a federal filing, Ingram deposited the checks into a Habitat for Humanity account before transferring around $388,000 in COVID funds into various personal bank accounts. DOJ noted she misappropriated around $514,672 from Habitat for Humanity and the U.S. government in total.
Ahead of her sentencing, Ingram submitted a statement to the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina asking for a sentence of probation with a period of home detention.
In a letter to U.S. District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis, Ingram wrote she was emotionally distressed in 2020 following the loss of her father and grandmother and felt pressured to provide for her family.
“I was faced with the pressures of getting us into a better environment, learning how to be a wife and mother, living up to high expectations at work, and then to add on another stressor, we went from a two-income family to one,” Ingram wrote.
Many people wrote letters on Ingram’s behalf to Judge Lewis as well, arguing Ingram’s sentence should be lessened due to her lack of prior convictions.
“I guarantee this will be the last time I have to stand before you in this way,” Ingram added in closing.
She faces a maximum of ten years in prison, as well as a $250,000 fine and restitution.
After working with Habitat for Humanity, Ingram worked for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of South Carolina.
This story is developing. Check back here for updates.
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Former Habitat for Humanity finance director to be sentenced for COVID fund theft
