New Orleans Woman Sentenced for Stealing Money from Open World

U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that KIM CASSELL, age 42, of New Orleans, was sentenced today after pleading guilty to a one-count Bill of Information charging her with stealing money from Open World Family Services, Inc. (“Open World”). Open World was a non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable corporation organized for the purpose of helping students in the greater New Orleans area grow academically.

From March 2010 until June 2012, CASSELL knowingly used federal grant money from the 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant program, amounting to more than $140,000, for her personal benefit, rather than for educational, grant related purposes.

U.S. District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle sentenced CASSELL to five years of probation with six months electronic monitoring and $149,000 in restitution.

U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the U.S. Department of Education and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter.  Assistant U. S. Attorney Sharan E. Lieberman was in charge of the prosecution.