Houston-Based Nonprofit BakerRipley Involved in Breaking Civil Monetary Penalties Law. Ordered to Pay $1.3 million

BakerRipley, a Houston-based non-profit organization, was involved in a situation with the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

BakerRipley agreed to pay $1.38 million to settle allegations that it violated the Civil Monetary Penalties Law. The allegations centered around the misuse of grant funds for what were described as "sham" products and services.

It was alleged that a former BakerRipley director colluded with vendors with whom she had pre-existing relationships to provide these sham professional development products and services to BakerRipley's Head Start and Early Head Start programs, which are educational programs for young children from low-income families.

The case came to light after BakerRipley self-disclosed the conduct to the OIG, which is a common practice to mitigate penalties if an organization discovers any wrongdoing internally. This settlement highlights the importance of oversight in the use of federal grant money, especially in programs aimed at supporting education and community development. Such incidents can lead to increased scrutiny of nonprofit organizations handling federal funds

I have also discovered from the NGO’s 990’s the tax-exempt nonprofit has invested with offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands. See below from the 2020 990 forms.