Attorney General James Secures Court Order to Dissolve Monroe County Not-for-Profit that Misused Funds Instead of Helping Vulnerable New Yorkers

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today secured a court order to dissolve the Community Resource Collaborative (CRC), a Monroe County not-for-profit, after it misused government funds intended to support Rochester-area community service organizations. Today’s court order also appoints an independent receiver to oversee the CRC’s remaining assets and distribute liquidated funds to the local nonprofits that are owed money. Attorney General James filed a petition to dissolve the CRC after an investigation revealed that its executives misused tens of thousands of dollars in federal funds to pay for personal expenses and failed to deliver more than $243,000 to the local organizations that were promised aid. 

"For families struggling to make ends meet in Rochester, and throughout the region, community-service organizations are an essential lifeline, and those groups need the support and funding they expect so they can help others," said Attorney General James. "The Neighborhood Collaborative Project was established to help address poverty, food insecurity, and other issues affecting New Yorkers in Rochester, but instead the CRC pocketed money that belonged to community-service organizations. Today’s court order will return funds to Rochester-area organizations that were owed money so that they can help New Yorkers access housing, food, and other essential services. Anytime a not-for-profit ignores our laws and cheats vulnerable groups and people who are relying on aid, my office will step in to right that wrong and protect New Yorkers.” 

Today’s court order bars the CRC and its officers and directors, including former Executive Director Tina Paradiso, from operating the organization, collecting any charitable funds, or transferring any funds or property that belongs to the CRC. The court order appoints a receiver to oversee the CRC, sell its property, and liquidate any remaining assets. The receiver is required to distribute all funds from the liquidated assets to the local organizations that submitted claims and are owed money. Once all the assets are liquidated and creditors are paid, the court will move forward with dissolving the CRC.

In November 2022, CRC was chosen to receive $7.1 million in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act over a four-year period for the Neighborhood Collaborative Project, an initiative intended to fund 12 local organizations that serve the Rochester area. In 2023, CRC received $1,067,971 in federal funding, but only $750,514 was distributed to the local organizations. 

An audit into CRC by Monroe County found that the nonprofit paid for expenses unrelated to its mission, including $28,000 in transportation expenses, most of them Uber charges for CRC executives, and $180,000 in disbursements to repay loans made by CRC’s founder, Tina Paradiso. The organization also made direct payments to its directors for no apparent reason, including $28,000 in rent payments to Tina Paradiso’s company Imprintable Solutions, $10,000 for personal security, and $20,000 in direct payments to CRC board member Anthony Hall. The report also concluded that CRC failed to maintain a proper financial management system and financial records. In many instances, accounting entries lacked detail, and disbursements were not accounted for by the program and/or agency. 

As a result of this self-dealing and financial mismanagement, the CRC failed to deliver $243,907.02 to community charities that provide food, housing, and other services and were promised aid.

Attorney General James thanks the Monroe County Law Department for their cooperation and assistance in this matter.

Attorney General James has always held nonprofits, organizations, and bad actors accountable when they misuse charitable funds. In May 2024, Attorney General James secured nearly $6.3 million for individuals who were defrauded by an Albany attorney and a financial advisor who looted family trusts intended to benefit charitable organizations throughout the Capital Region. In August 2023, Attorney General James recovered $510,000 for charity from Long Island lawyers who allegedly illegally paid themselves more than $1.3 million from a deceased client’s trust and charitable foundation. In February 2022, Attorney General James sued the former President and CEO of the Humanitarian Organization for Multicultural Experiences, Inc. (H.O.M.E.) for diverting or misusing nearly a million dollars in H.O.M.E.’s charitable assets for her personal gain. In May 2019, Attorney General James announced a settlement with Oneonta Elks over their wrongful use of charitable assets to pay for capital improvements to its lodge building and property, as well as covering general operating expenses. 

This matter is being handled by Deputy Assistant Attorney General in Charge Benjamin Bruce and former Assistant Attorney General Audrey Cooper both of the Rochester Regional Office which is led by Assistant Attorney General-in-Charge Ted O’Brien.  The Rochester Regional Office is a part of the Division of Regional Offices, which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General for Regional Affairs Jill Faber and First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.