Authorities say they have unraveled an elaborate fraud by a former official from Habitat for Humanity to bilk the charity of more than $100,000.
Former construction manager Donald McBee is accused of using dummy companies to steer money into his personal accounts, according to the Eagle Police Department.
McBee is accused of defrauding Habitat for Humanity of Eagle and Lake Counties more than $100,000 through phony invoices for work and goods that never existed.
McBee, 61, of Fairplay was arrested on a charge of felony theft last week, the Eagle Police Department said. He is free on $100,000 bond.
The last phone number for McBee’s home listed in public records was not working Tuesday or Wednesday.
John Welaj, executive director of the local chapter, said McBee was an employee from February 2005 to August 2007.
“Since 2007, Habitat has updated a number of financial systems and procedures, including hiring an outside accounting firm and an independent audit firm in 2008,” he said. “We take our fiduciary responsibility seriously and appreciate the support of our donors and the entire community who have helped Habitat strive to meet its goal of eliminating poverty housing in Vail Valley.”
According to tax records, the Avon-based chapter, one of 31 in the state, raised $932,824 in donations and grants in 2009, the latest year tax records are available.
The case began as a stolen goods report in Eagle on June 15, when an Eagle businessman told police Habitat for Humanity was selling a trailer he thought had been stolen from him, which a police investigation later confirmed.
Habitat for Humanity records indicated the trailer was purchased from a Leadville company called Encompass for $6,000. Encompass turned out to be a name-only business allegedly set up by McBee, police said.
McBee’s personal bank account also was linked to a business called Santa Fe Lopez Concrete, a real company owned by someone else, according to investigators.
Habitat for Humanity had written several checks to Santa Fe Lopez Concrete and Encompass.
“Part of McBee’s job was to approve invoices for payment and to protect Habitat for Humanity from fraud by making sure any submitted invoices were for work that was actually completed satisfactorily,” Eagle police said in a media release.
Police added, “At no time while McBee was employed by Habitat for Humanity did anyone else know of his connection to Encompass or Santa Fe Lopez Concrete.”
Court records show McBee has had several run-ins with law enforcement over the years. He was charged with assault and false imprisonment in Park County in 2006, though the charges were later dropped. He was charged with felony theft in Park County in 2004, but those charges also were later dropped, records show.
McBee’s money problems dating back more than a decade also are evident in court records, including a $50,000 federal tax lien in Massachusetts filed last December and a $116,122 child-support lien in Park County in 2006.
He also has been sued several times by creditors, records show.
