Oregon nonprofit founder allegedly used relief money for gambling, personal expenses

• The leader of a nonprofit organization in Oregon, meant to help victims of natural disasters, was indicted on two counts of Aggravated Theft in the First Degree
• The suspect, Marcus Brooks, allegedly used grant intended to help tornado survivors for settling various expenses, including traveling, gambling and hotel accommodation, not related to the nonprofit organization, the DOJ claims
• Attorney General Dan Rayfield speaks about the criminal case

The founder and executive director of a nonprofit organization was recently indicted on two counts stemming from allegations of stealing money meant to help victims of natural disasters.

Accusations against the suspect claim he stole charitable funds and used them for gambling, entertainment and other expenses.

Suspect faces two counts of Aggravated Theft

The criminal case involves Marcus Brooks, the founder and executive director of the Cascade Relief Team.

This week, the Oregon Department of Justice confirmed in a press release that Brooks was indicted by a Lincoln County grand jury on two counts of Aggravated Theft in the First Degree.

The indictment in question is centered around a $326,000 grant from the American Red Cross that had to be used to help build tornado shelters for survivors in Kentucky.

However, an investigation uncovered that a substantial portion of the grant was missing.

The suspect allegedly stole a significant part of the disaster relief money to settle debts of his company.

As a result, the grant money was allegedly used by Brooks to "to shore up pre-existing financial liabilities," as described by the Department of Justice.

Besides the sums used to settle company-related debt, additional funds were also routed to personal expenditures, prosecutors claim.

Such included expenses for entertainment, vehicle payments, cash withdrawals, many of which made at casinos, personal payments, as well as traveling and hotel accommodation spending not related to the disaster relief work of Brooks’ nonprofit organization.

Allegedly, the suspect also used disaster relief funds to pay bank fees due to overdrafts.

The indictment follows civil lawsuit against the suspect from April

Attorney General Dan Rayfield, addressed the criminal case.

"This man preyed on people at the worst moment of their lives," he explained.

Moreover, Rayfield pointed out: "He wore the badge of a disaster relief leader while gambling away the money meant to rebuild people’s homes and give them a new start. That’s a debt he’ll have to pay back in more ways than one."

Brooks’ indictment follows a civil lawsuit in the State of Oregon filed back in April.

That lawsuit alleged that Brooks stole close to $837,000 in charitable funds meant to provide relief for victims of fire, flood and tornadoes in Oregon and Kentucky.

According to the Department of Justice, that civil case is still pending.

If found guilty on two counts of Aggravated Theft in the First Degree in Kentucky, the suspect may face several years in prison, restitution orders and financial penalties.

Oftentimes the misuse of emergency aid funds is recognized as an aggravating factor during sentencing.

Still, the suspect remains innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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