The former director of a Brooklyn nonprofit is accused of stealing more than a half million dollars in federal aid that was intended to pay for food for meals and snacks for poor children.
Andre A. Lewis is charged with defrauding the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Child Food Program of more than $500,000 while he was the executive director of the Better Brooklyn Community Center.
The nonprofit received the funds from the federal agency as part of a 2005-2006 contract with the city's health department to serve meals and snacks to children at its centers.
Lewis' lawyer says he is "shocked that the government would proceed in a case where, as far as I can tell, there's no evidence of personal liability." The 24-year-old did not enter a plea Wednesday.
