Missing Funds at Red Cross Spark Investigation

SANTA ANA — Police investigators are targeting a former employee of the Orange County Chapter of the American Red Cross in connection with embezzlement of more than $140,000 from the agency over a two-year period, authorities said Friday.

Red Cross accountants found irregularities in the bookkeeping and became suspicious, agency spokeswoman Judy Iannaccone said. They notified the national headquarters and hired external auditors, who verified this week that $144,056 of the agency’s money is missing, she said.

“We turned it over to [Santa Ana] police,” Iannaccone said. “At this point, it’s in their hands.”

Because the fund is insured, Red Cross would lose no more than $35,000, which amounts to about 1% of the agency’s annual budget. “It’s important to look at this from that perspective,” Iannaccone said. “There’s no way this will affect our delivery of service.”

The employee is no longer with the agency, Iannaccone said.

Since the internal probe, Red Cross managers have implemented safeguards, such as a more elaborate system of checks and balances in their accounting procedure and better background checks on prospective employees, Iannaccone said.