A leadership battle at the Urban League of Long Island escalated this week as the nonprofit filed a lawsuit Thursday against its longtime president.
The Plainview-based organization is suing Theresa Sanders, alleging a July forensic audit revealed she mismanaged its money. The Urban League says in the lawsuit she was fired Aug. 9 but that she is still publicly saying she represents the organization.
Sanders says she is still in charge and that Su Chen, who says she is interim chair of the nonprofit’s board, was removed from the board this summer and does not have the standing to file the lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed in state Supreme Court, says the audit uncovered nearly $200,000 in improperly documented expenses including a $43,046 check to the Internal Revenue Service to have a tax lien removed from Sanders’ home. According to the lawsuit, auditors also questioned expenses from a trip to an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic for Sanders and her daughter, nearly $4,500 in ATM withdrawals and other expenses.
Sanders’ attorney, E. Christopher Murray, said they were all business expenses. He said the money pales in comparison to the amount the organization owes Sanders for taking a reduced salary while it was undergoing financial issues. She took a $45,000 salary for one year although she was contractually owed $135,000, he said.
“We are trying to address the questions that were raised in the audit and we provided a ton of documents, which they seemed to ignore,” Murray said Friday. “If anything, we believe the Urban League owes her money.”
A spokeswoman for the National Urban League declined to comment on the lawsuit and said she could not clarify who controls the local organization.
“Each of our affiliates is a separate 501(c)(3) with its own board of trustees, who appoint the president,” league spokeswoman Teresa Candori said in an email.
The lawsuit came nearly a week after Chen sent a mass email to…
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