CLEVELAND
Law enforcement arrested former executive director of a Cleveland community development corporation Thursday for embezzling more than $172,000 from the Collinwood and Nottingham Villages Development Corporation, according to authorities.
Tamiko Parker, 46, of Cleveland, has been indicted on one count of theft of federal funds, officials said.
“Ms. Parker stole hundreds of thousands of dollars planned for economic development in the community,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen D. Anthony. “The only thing Ms. Parker was developing was her lavish lifestyle. She will now be held accountable for being a thief.”
The Community Development Corporation or CDC, a nonprofit on the city’s East Side that develops and leases property, lost more than $172,000. She embezzled the money between 2014 and 2016, while she worked as the CDC’s executive director, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Parker made unauthorized cash withdrawals, having checks issued to her and using debit and credit cards to pay her personal expenses.
Parker used the community development corporation’s debit card to make purchases at Harley Davidson, the Horseshoe Casino, Victoria’s Secret and in Atlantic City and Las Vegas.
She used the corporation’s credit card to purchase appliances at Home Depot for her home. Parker collected cash rental payments from tenants of the nonprofit and deposited cash into her personal account, according to court documents, according to authorities.
“This defendant betrayed the trust placed in her by a city and a community,” U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said. “Instead of using her position to spur redevelopment, she used it as a personal piggy bank to gamble and travel.”