State tax money for job training, instead used to host Bingo fundraisers, which lost money

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A New Orleans organization that received state dollars to provide job training and placement and help prevent evictions spent nearly half of it to hold charitable bingo games that cost more money than they brought in, according to the Louisiana Legislative Auditor.

Its audit, made public Monday, looked into how the National Association for African American Economic Development spent the $400,000 it received from the state last year. Records show it spent $199,568 to hold bingo games intended to raise money for its mission, even though that activity wasn’t allowed under its cooperative endeavor agreement with the state.

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The auditor’s review also found the association spent more than $52,000 total from May through November to rent the building where it held its bingo games, a former boxing gym in the Central City neighborhood not far from the Superdome. Another $13,260 was spent for electrical supplies and upgrades to the building.

Lee said, in hindsight, his choice of the venue was poor, and he overestimated attendance when negotiating the rental rate. He anticipated 200 people but seldom saw more than a few dozen.

“It wasn’t one of the best neighborhoods, so that kind of left me at a disadvantage,” Lee said. “We didn’t have the visibility that we would have normally had at another location, which probably could have garnered more people to come.”

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It had to enroll at least 125 people in programs for job training, job placement and eviction prevention services by June 30, 2024. The group also had to submit quarterly progress and cost reports to show it was adhering to the agreement.

As of March 5, the association had not submitted any reports to show how it used the state money or fulfilled the terms of its agreement.

What records were available showed the associated distributed $185,000 to six recipients, in amounts ranging from $8,000 to $115,000. The audit report did not name the recipients.

There was no documentation to show many people received training, though Lee said it was “at least 10 or 15.”

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The National Association for African American Economic Development has proposals pending with the city of New Orleans and hopes to secure more state grant funding, Lee said.

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