A criminal investigation has been opened into the finances of a now-defunct Twin Cities non-profit organization whose mission was to provide homeless young adults with transitional housing, documents filed in court show.
A search warrant drafted by Crystal Police and filed publicly in Hennepin County District Court last week sought bank records for Community Justice Partners Association, Inc, and identifies the group’s director, Mary Louise Gaines, as the “suspect” in the case who allegedly ”misled” the police officer who is investigating the case.
The warrant says Gaines wrote a $4,000 check to a Crystal apartment complex in August to pay rent for three apartments to house some of their youths, but that the check bounced. The property manager for Virginian Partners LLC then called police.
On Monday, Gaines blamed a “bank error” for that check not clearing.
“I really feel there was no shady business practices done,” Gaines told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS in an interview.
When asked by a reporter if she ever stole or misappropriated taxpayer money, Gaines responded, “No. Never.”
Last summer, Community Justice Partners had youth homes in Crystal, Mounds View, and Coon Rapids. But all are now closed, Gaines said, after the group ran out of money. The youths have since been placed in other homes.
C.J.P.’s largest source of funding came from Anoka County, according to Gaines.
Jerry Soma, manager of the county’s Human Services program, said he terminated C.J.P.’s contract in August, after concerns the group was not providing adequate rules or supervision at its two Coon Rapids homes.
The county paid C.J.P. $31,000 from the state’s Group Residential Housing program from March 2010 until October 2010.
“We did not feel that (the money) was being spent wisely,” Soma told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS.
“We don’t know all the details of what occurred, but we didn’t feel it was a healthy environment,” he said.
A spokeswoman at the YMCA in Coon Rapids said it stopped dealing with Gaines’s group because it no longer had confidence that C.J.P. was ensuring the safety and well-being of the young adults in its programs.
Gaines has not been arrested or charged.
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