The owner of a nonprofit that supposedly distributed food to the hungry has been indicted on two counts of bank fraud for allegedly draining $217,000 from the US government.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Oklahoma, 60-year-old Victor Colbert of the Oklahoma-based Heartland Heroes Foundation submitted at least five fraudulent applications for CARES Act funds, including Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and an Economic Injury Disaster Loan advance.
[adinserter block="1"]Colbert allegedly falsified documents, claiming Heartland Heroes had 21 employees and a monthly payroll exceeding $59,000 to secure the funds.
According to FOX23, Colbert’s nonprofit claimed to feed thousands weekly but left piles of rotting food behind a Tulsa church, sparking odor complaints and disputes with local pastors.
Pastors and property owners, including Robert Stamper and Bill Bressler, accused Colbert of abandoning spoiled food and failing to pay debts.
The Tulsa Dream Center and a Sand Springs church says it lost nearly $36,000 for undelivered food, per court documents (FOX23).
If convicted, Colbert faces up to 60 years in prison and $2 million in fines. He is set to appear in federal court in November.
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