BATON ROUGE, La. -- A Caddo Parish nonprofit director was arrested Tuesday after investigators accused her of using state funds intended for an academic support and life-skills program to pay personal expenses, including a vehicle, jewelry and travel.
Jazmine King, 35, of Quiet Acres Road in Blanchard, was arrested by agents with Attorney General Liz Murrill’s Louisiana Bureau of Investigation on charges of felony theft and filing or maintaining false public records.
King is the director of Divine Kingdom Ministries Inc., a Caddo Parish nonprofit that received a $75,000 state appropriation for “academic support and life skills training,” according to the Attorney General’s Office.
The funding was administered by the Louisiana Department of the Treasury through a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement. An initial $37,500 payment was deposited into the nonprofit’s bank account, which investigators said was solely operated by King.
The Louisiana Office of the Inspector General requested assistance from LBI after receiving information from the state treasurer’s office about possible misuse of the funds.
Investigators said King’s first cost report was flagged by Treasury personnel because of numerous concerns, including suspicious cash-back transactions, missing invoices and an Airbnb purchase.
Treasury personnel also found that King had paid herself a personal salary but did not maintain payroll timesheets, a payroll ledger or other records documenting the days or hours she worked, investigators said.
Further investigation found that King allegedly used the public funds for personal expenses, including payments on her personal vehicle, car insurance, consumer debts and jewelry purchases.
Investigators also accused King of making unauthorized ATM withdrawals, purchasing an unauthorized vehicle, paying residential utility bills and personal travel expenses, and making payments to people for work that was never performed.
The Attorney General’s Office said the alleged misuse totaled about $37,500.
“Car, cash, and jewelry! Instead of enriching the lives of young people in north Louisiana, Ms. King appears to have used the hard-earned tax dollars of the men and women of Louisiana to enrich herself instead,” Murrill said in a statement. “Louisiana is fighting back against public-benefits fraud — and getting real results. Great work by my agents, Louisiana Inspector General Angele Davis and her team, and the Louisiana Department of the Treasury.”
Davis said the money was intended to provide academic support to children in north Louisiana.
“Our investigators found it paid for a car note, jewelry, and a weekend in Monroe,” Davis said. “When Treasury saw something wrong in the cost reports, they referred it to us; we built the case and took it to the Attorney General.”
King was arrested pursuant to a warrant issued by the 19th Judicial District Court and booked without incident at the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.