Esperanza Detroit Funds Involved in Embezzlement
Someone at the Detroit Public Schools Office of the Inspector General noticed a few “irregularities” with regards to checks issued by Esperanza Detroit. They decided that it might be worthwhile to conduct an internal audit. And as it turns out, they were right.
Esperanza Detroit was, up until very recently, a non-profit that provided a number of services and also in-house counselors to at-risk students enrolled in Detroit Public Schools. But Cecilia Zavala, one of the non-profit’s co founders, is believed to have been embezzling money from the organization over a period of several years. And she wasn’t alone.
Rudolfo Diaz, the principal of Detroit’s Western High School, is accused of being Zavala’s partner in crime, as it were. According to Detroit Police Department records, the results of the internal audit were handed over to police when it was discovered what Zavala and Diaz had been up to.
Zavala, it is alleged, spent thousands of the non-profit’s dollars on personal items. These included costly jewelry, a car, dining out, and multiple vacations at expensive hotels, along with several other purchases. Diaz appears to have received a number of checks from Esperanza Detroit for consulting services that he did not provide.
Zavala is charged with multiple felonies, including single counts of embezzlement over $100,000; embezzlement over $1,000; conspiracy to embezzle; conspiracy to embezzle from a nonprofit; using a computer to commit embezzlement over $100,000; and using a computer to commit embezzlement from a non-profit over $1,000. She is also charged with two counts of embezzlement over $1,000 from a non profit;
Diaz, who is also facing charges, is not up against nearly as many felony counts as Zavala. However, his charges are no less serious. He is charged with single counts of embezzlement over $1,000; conspiracy to embezzle; embezzlement over $1,000 from a non profit, and conspiracy to embezzle from a non-profit.
Both Zavala and Diaz have been placed on leave from their respective positions. They were arraigned on Wednesday, July 1st, in the 36th District Court in Detroit.