Fresno foster youth nonprofit faces lawsuit. CEO accused of unethical conduct, favoritism
A nonprofit group that serves as an advocate for children in foster care is being sued by two former employees who accuse the program’s leader of using unethical conduct in obtaining grants, practicing favoritism and doling out lucrative contracts to her friends.
The former employees allege Wilma Tom Hashimoto, CEO of Court Appointed Special Advocates of Fresno and Madera counties, uses the organization as a tool for doing friends favors instead of being focused on its mission, which is supporting children in foster care.
CASA trains volunteers who serve as advocates for foster youth.
Hashimoto did not return phone calls to The Bee on Friday. But the organization issued this statement:
“CASA has at all times complied with state and federal laws. The allegations of two former employees to the contrary are false, and we look forward to presenting the truth in court.”
CEO’s actions questioned
The former employees Jason Williams, program manager, and Cynthia Lomonaco, an outreach specialist, filed their lawsuit April 19 in Fresno County Superior Court after they were fired by Hashimoto.
They allege the firing was in retaliation for speaking out about Hashimoto’s unethical behavior and her failure to correct a problem of employee harassment.
Williams began working at CASA in 2015 and was responsible for providing leadership, program development, fiscal management and support to staff. He became concerned about Hashimoto’s actions after she applied for a $50,000 grant that he believed was better suited for another non-profit than CASA.
Williams alleges that CASA was awarded the grant, in part, because Hashimoto used insider information from a personal friend at the funding organization.
“With most grants the funders won’t answer your questions, let alone personal text messages, it is a competitive process,” Williams told The Bee. “But Wilma was given information so that CASA would qualify for the grant.”
Williams said that after CASA was awarded the grant, Hashimoto got a call from another organization about why she applied for the grant since it did not fit their mission.
“Instead of demonstrating remorse or regret for taking this grant from an organization that was better fitted than CASA, Wilma reveled in her victory, laughing and bragging about her inside connection,” according to the lawsuit.
Hashimoto allegedly later selected her “inside connection” to sit on CASA’s board of directors. Also problematic at CASA was Hashimoto’s hiring of outside agencies, according to the lawsuit.
In one example, Hashimoto awarded a consulting contract of between $20,000 to $30,000 to a longtime friend to revamp CASA’s strategies for working with volunteers and foster children.
But Williams said that after several weeks the person who received the contract was not producing anything and when staff questioned her about her slow progress, she did not take it well.
According to the lawsuit, Hashimoto’s friend became very defensive and eventually stormed out of the room.
“Wilma chased after her and then came back and reprimanded everyone in the room for calling out her friend’s lack of results. CASA eventually paid (her or her company) about $3,000.00 to go away, even though she produced no work product. Eventually another firm was hired to take on the project,” the lawsuit states.
Another friend of Hashimoto was allegedly paid $18,000 to re-brand the agency. Williams said there was no competitive bid and he even doubts there was a written contract, according to the lawsuit.
“It was unclear as to whether or not the CASA logo was even changed (which was allegedly part of the plan) and none of the promised materials were produced other than a “mood board”, which in itself took twice as long as agreed to produce,” according to the lawsuit.
Williams took his concerns to one of the board members, who also happened to be a close friend of Hashimoto.
“I thought ethics and professionalism come above friendship,” Williams told The Bee. “She thanked me and said she would look into it. She also said she would let me know what comes of it. About a week or two later, I was fired.”
Lomonaco worked at CASA from Oct. 3, 2018 to Aug. 2, 2019. She was responsible for recruiting volunteers to serve as advocates for foster youth. She would often go to public events on weekends, or work after hours.
The problem was, she says, is she wasn’t getting paid for the extra hours.
When she asked Hashimoto about it, she told her to take time off instead of claiming overtime on her time sheet.
“She (Hashimoto) knew I would come in on some Saturdays and do nine hours,” said Lomonaco, who was an hourly worker. “But I was told we absolutely do not submit overtime. And I don’t think I have ever heard of anyone getting overtime.”
Lomonaco believes her undoing at CASA came as a result of several complaints she made about one of the male staff members who was in charge of fundraising. He said the staff member was rude and demeaning. And in one instance he cornered her in her cubicle and stood over her.
“He yelled at her, demeaned her, and embarrassed her in front of the entire staff,” the lawsuit states.
Lomonaco said Hashimoto did very little to discipline the employee, who is married to one of Hashimoto’s friends and is a CASA board member.
Williams and Lomonaco, who are being represented by attorney Jeremy Dobbins, are suing CASA on several issues — including alleged unlawful retaliation, hostile work environment, wrongful termination, and failure to compensate for hours worked.
The plaintiffs are seeking financial penalties and a full examination and audit of CASA’s financial records.
“Wilma promoted and allowed for a culture of employee abuse, favoritism, and discrimination. Wilma would often sacrifice the rights of others and even her own integrity to obtain a new donor, grant funding, or a favor from someone in a position of authority,” according to the lawsuit.
