WA State Attorney General investigation uncovers $138k in mishandled donations, sues nonprofit
According to a lawsuit filed by the State of Washington attorney general against ANSIL and it's former board president, Lisa Colville, the organization's "reputation has been irreversibly damaged, many of its assets have been wasted and its funding sources have pulled their support" all due to Colville's misuse of her position as ANSILs president. The lawsuit alleges that Colville used her position to interfere with executive director Tobaski Snipes' duties and usurp the authority of the ANSIL board of directors for her own, creating a shadow board of directors made up primarily of her family members and that this shadow board seized control of ANSILs assets after she fired and trespassed Snipes from the corporation he helped create.
The details of this lawsuit are public record and the facts were compiled after an exhaustive investigation of all parties by the state attorney general's office. In addition, the investigation uncovered mishandling of over $138,000 in donations after Colville and her group took control of the organization's banking, some of which were grants that had been approved while Snipes led ANSIL and some that were solicited after Colville had officially been removed from the board.
The state has appointed a third party receiver, which is an outside individual with full authority to handle the remaining operations of ANSIL while the lawsuit is heard and decided by the court. As of this writing, Colville maintains that she has authority to act on behalf of ANSIL.
In the meantime, there are a handful of young adults that continue to reside in the house Colville had established in the name of ANSIL, but this facility is not being managed nor is any mentoring being provided by the legitimate ANSIL board, volunteers or executive director.
In order to continue serving the young adults who still need aid, the legitimate ANSIL board and executive director created two new organizations. The first, Empower Life, is a non profit funding and grant making organization dedicated to providing resources for at risk young adults age 18 to 24 and the second, Snipes H3 Community Center, is a mentoring and housing service that provides a family atmosphere, real world mentoring and guidance to young people that are homeless.
"It's hard to believe it's been a year since all this started. The experience was brutal, but we have persevered and are moving forward!" The words of one of the few remaining members of the legitimate board of ANSIL A New Start in Life, Crystal Andersen, referring to the implosion of the organization last November.
Andersen, the president of the board of Empower Life, has been involved with ANSIL since 2018 and wants the community to know there's still a mission and vision to truly provide care to this vulnerable demographic.
More information about Empower Life can be found at www.empowerlife-kpr.org