Heads of Foodbank of Southern California accused of misusing funds for personal financial gain

California officials sued the Foodbank of Southern California, alleging that the nonprofit and a dozen of its leaders misused state and federal funds for their own gain, including home renovations, a Tesla and a church billboard. 

The Long Beach-based food bank closed last October amid a Department of Social Services investigation into allegations against the nonprofit's former CEO, Jeanne Cooper.

"The Foodbank of Southern California has fully investigated the allegations involving former CEO, Jeanne Cooper, both through internal and external investigations," current CEO Brian Weaver, who is also named in the lawsuit, said last October. "When these allegations were first brought to the attention of our board, we took them extremely seriously and immediately conducted an internal investigation, suspending Ms. Cooper pending the outcome."

The Foodbank of Southern California  

The nonprofit, which opened in 1975, served low-income neighborhoods across Los Angeles County. According to the nonprofit's website, it earned awards for its "sound fiscal management and commitment to accountability and transparency." However, for at least the last decade, the leaders of the nonprofit have diverted roughly $11 million of state and federal funds, according to the lawsuit.

"Unbeknownst to the Department, for at least the last decade, the Foodbank's officers, directors, and vendors worked together to divert millions of dollars of state and federal funds away from these most vulnerable communities, into their own pockets," state attorneys wrote in their complaint against the nonprofit. 

The Department of Social Service began investigating the entire food bank on June 1, 2024, after a whistleblower filed a complaint. The tip accused the food bank of "a variety of wrongdoing," including reimbursement of false expenses and the use of the nonprofit's funds for personal use and enjoyment. 

Investigators claim that the Foodbank of Southern California received more than $11 million to pay for nonexistent goods and services. Of the millions of allegedly misused funds, $200,000 went to pay for 4,000 $50 Walmart gift cards and the organization failed to keep any documentation that the gift cards were ever given to households, according to the state lawsuit. 

The state also claimed the food bank used a little more than $28,000 of Emergency Food Program funds to pay for former CEO Cooper's gas expenses between her home in Las Vegas and LA County. 

Allegations against board members and CEOs

In addition to the CEOs — Cooper and Weaver — the lawsuit named 12 members of the Foodbank's board, including Dion Rambo, Alice "Sweet" Alice Harris and Michael Barrett. Cooper's spouse Lamarr Ramsey was also named as a defendant. However, he never worked for the nonprofit, according to the legal complaint. 

In the lawsuit, the Department of Social Services alleged that Cooper and Ramsey used the nonprofit's funds to pay for a myriad of personal expenses, including home renovations, lawn services, and an artificial Christmas tree. Investigators said they used the nonprofit's corporate accounts and credit cards to spend $228,000 at Best Buy, Home Depot, Lowe's, Office Depot, and AT&T.

Additionally, Cooper sent almost $4,800 to her sister-in-law for unspecified "transportation" expenses, nearly $7,000 to her spouse for repairs that were never made at the food bank and a little more than $2,650 to Ramsey's company to decorate two of the business's trucks, according to the complaint. The food bank also gifted Ramsey a $10,000 box truck, at Cooper's direction or authorization, according to state attorneys.

"I took over because we suspected Fraud," Weaver said following the lawsuit. 

The state also accuses Weaver, who became CEO after Cooper's suspension, of receiving a $20,000 cashier's check from the nonprofit's account and failing to document that it was used for the food bank in October 2024, the same month investigators served search warrants at the Foodbank of Southern California's headquarters. Weaver also used the nonprofit's funds to buy a Tesla for himself, according to the lawsuit. The state also claims he used his position to hire his family members, who served as the nonprofit's project manager and accountant. 

Regarding the nonprofit's board, state attorneys accuse Rambo of securing a $279,749 agreement with another company, the Southwest Group, that never provided any services. Instead, officials believe Rambo pocketed the money and used it for himself. 

Barrett, who served as the board's secretary, allegedly used the nonprofit's accounts to pay his company, Kingdomtainment, $5,000 every financial quarter for a billboard over his church. Barrett, who is also the pastor of Do Right Christian Church, used the state funds to make direct payments to his parish, according to the civil complaint. 

KCAL News contacted Cooper and the board members named in the lawsuit but have not heard back. 

Allegations against "Sweet Alice" and her son-in-law

The 90-year-old Harris, whose nickname is "Sweet," garnered a reputation as a prominent philanthropist, even being called a beacon of hope for the community by an LA city council member. In June 2024, the city dedicated an intersection in her name for her work through the social services organization Parents of Watts. 

Harris allegedly used her status on the food bank's board to send $172,896 to the Parents of Watts, according to the complaint. State attorneys also claim that she used the Foodbank of Southern California's accounts to send donations to Parents of Watts and to buy bicycles, gift cards, suits and turkeys for her social services organization. The civil complaint also outlined a claim that she used the food bank's accounts to send $2,000 to her family member's organization, Just Caring for Folks. 

"I am innocent," Harris said in response to the lawsuit. "I never, ever had anything to do with the money at the Foodbank."

Investigators also claimed she hired her granddaughter, Johnetta Woods, for a federally funded position at the food bank. State officials said Woods received regular payments from the nonprofit but did not provide any services. 

"I have never taken one penny. I've never been around to take it," Harris said. "I wont take and I haven't been around it."

The state lawsuit outlines allegations that she used her position at the food bank to grant her son-in-law Egerton Forster a spot on the board and to appoint him as the nonprofit's interim CEO in 2020.

In the ensuing year, Forster allegedly sent $50,000 to his wife's company, Seek HM1, without board approval and in violation of the nonprofit's bylaws, according to the complaint. State officials said Forster's wife, Linda Forster, is Harris's daughter.

He's also accused of sending $14,000 to Watts Willowbrook Church, where he held a leadership position, according to state attorneys.

Harris said she confronted her son-in-law after she learned about the alleged misappropriation. 

"I knew he was lying and I just told him, 'You got to go. You're just making me look bad,'" Harris said. "I fired him."

Weaver also defended Harris, claiming the paper trail didn't point to her. 

"In my mind, when I'm around her, I feel like I'm around Mother Teresa," he said. "She has that kind of aura."

KCAL News contacted Forster but has not received a reply.