Black Rip Off Report Headline Animator

Sunday, March 14, 2010

The Dorena Kearney Rip Off of Colours, Inc.


Michael Hinkelman at the Philadelphia News is reporting on how a former executive director of a city nonprofit that provides AIDS-prevention services to gay and lesbian residents of color was sentenced yesterday to 12 months and a day in federal prison for stealing almost $139,000 from the organization, COLOURS Inc.


DORENA KEARNEY

Dorena Kearney
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Dorena Kearney, 52, of Lindenwold, N.J., was also ordered to make restitution of $138,768 to the city and surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on April 9. She pleaded guilty last June to one count of theft of federal program funds.
Kearney had faced from 18 to 24 months in prison under advisory sentencing guidelines, but defense attorney Joseph P. Capone asked for leniency, citing a vast array of "ailments" that afflicted Kearney, including hypertension, cerebral vascular disease and chronic back pain.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Barrett argued for a guideline sentence and said Kearney had used the purloined funds in a "very self-indulgent" way.
He said Kerney had spent thousands of dollars in stolen money on fur clothing, cruises to the Caribbean and vacations. (Barrett noted two other expenditures in his sentencing memo: $2,165 for cosmetic surgery and $1,011 for dog training.)
As for Kearney's ailments, Barrett said that they could be adequately addressed by the Bureau of Prisons' medical staff.
Amy Kurland, the city's inspector general, testified that Kearney's theft deprived COLOURS' clients of needed services and "eroded" public confidence in government.
Kearney was charged last April by the U.S. attorney following a joint investigation by the FBI and the city's Inspector General's Office.
Authorities said Kearney opened four credit-card accounts and obtained lines of credit from area banks - some in COLOURS' name - without knowledge of, or approval by, the organization's board of directors. More HERE
Black Rip Off Report: Thanks Dorena Kearney for ripping off people of color! We hope you enjoy your stay in Federal prison.