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Isanti Co. Sheriff's Foundation treasurer charged with theft-by-swindle
A woman is charged with theft by swindling after investigators found evidence that she stole thousands of dollars from the nonprofit, Project 612. FOX 9's Soyoung Kim has the details.
ISANTI, Minn. (FOX 9) - The founder of Project 612 said there is a sense of betrayal because he trusted the person who is now accused of swindling the program’s grant money.
Treasurer charged
The backstory:
Marshaan Johnson grew up in Minneapolis playing basketball and started Project 612 to help train and mentor young athletes and at-risk youth.
"I started playing basketball. Went to North High. Went to MCTC for junior college. Then I went to St. Scholastica to play for my four years," said Johnson. "I studied exercise physiology, developed a product called the Whettball, that’s designed to dribble underwater."
What he needed in the early stages of starting his organization was an established 501(c)(3) organization to serve as a fiscal agent.
That is when he said earlier this year, a friend connected him with their mom, who was the treasurer for the Isanti County Sheriff’s Office Foundation.
What they're saying:
According to the criminal complaint, the Isanti County Sheriff’s Office Foundation’s treasurer agreed to help steward $100,000 of grant money from a charitable giving fund meant for Project 612. Project 612 would receive payments.
"It was good for a couple months, then a check bounced for me. A check bounced for my partner," said Johnson.
That raised alarms with the credit union. Now, according to court documents, the treasurer of the Isanti County Sheriff’s Foundation, Kim Nordenstrom, is facing theft charges for allegedly swindling nearly all of that money.
Investigators said the two other members of the Isanti County Sheriff’s Foundation, the sheriff’s wife who serves as president and the board secretary, had no knowledge of the grant money or withdrawals Nordenstrom is accused of making.
According to court documents, investigators said Nordenstrom "used those funds to pay off her personal debt and purchase farming implement equipment."
"Shock, I didn’t think it was real, frustration, sadness, I felt a lot of betrayal," said Johnson.
Johnson said this was a hard life lesson, but his determination to give back remains unchanged.
"The goal is to provide them with a skill they can use to translate into the real world after school ends, after basketball ends," said Johnson.
Ongoing case:
Due a conflict of interest, investigators in this case were from the Chisago County Sheriff’s Office.
Nordenstrom faces two counts. The count of theft by swindle carries a penalty of up to 20 years.
The Source: Isanti County District Court.