Charlotte alliance CEO defends hiring new director who left Ohio under scrutiny
The Charlotte Regional Business Alliance is defending hiring a new leader for the Mayor’s Racial Equity Initiative who was the subject of a criminal inquiry in Ohio.
Kimberly Henderson on Thursday was named executive director of the CRBA’s Employer Office of Inclusion and Advancement, a new top leadership position responsible for implementing the mayor’s $250 million public-private racial equity effort.
During her tenure as director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, the department came under scrutiny for its handling of massive fraud in its unemployment program. The program dealt with unemployment claims and payments, which soared during the pandemic.
A day after Henderson’s new position in Charlotte was announced, WCNC first reported more details of controversy surrounding her time in Ohio.
That includes several state audits that showed massive incorrect payments to people who fraudulently applied for unemployment benefits and a request for criminal inquiry into the handling of those fraudulent claims by Henderson and other department staff.
The Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, which houses Henderson’s new position, did not immediately answer questions regarding her background. But on Monday Janet LaBar, president and CEO, Charlotte Regional Business Alliance said it was considered during hiring.
“I was aware that the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, formerly led by Kim Henderson, was the subject of a now-completed audit and request for investigation which dates back to May 2021,” LaBar said in a statement Monday afternoon.
“I factored this into consideration, as well as her capabilities for the role of executive director of the Employer Office of Inclusion and Advancement, and I made the decision to hire her.”
LaBar’s statement continued on to say that the office Henderson will oversee is one of four priorities for the initiative, “which will be supervised by two oversight boards.”
“There is tremendous work to be done for our community, and we’re ready to get going,” LaBar said.
A message left with a phone number listed in Henderson’s name was not returned immediately Monday afternoon.
Despite the initiative being called the “mayor’s,” Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles has said she didn’t weigh in on Henderson’s hire.
At a City Council meeting Monday night, Lyles — appearing to read from a prepared statement — said:
“I wanted to state clearly, that I nor the Charlotte City Council or any council member had any role in the hiring of the alliance staff.”
Problems in Ohio
Henderson resigned from her role in March 2021 after a little more than two years on the job, according to local media at the time.
Months later the Ohio Attorney General asked two law enforcement agencies to open a criminal investigation over the department’s handling of fraudulent and over payments, according to a letter obtained by the Observer.
The May 2021 letter was prompted by concerns from the state auditor’s office, which identified conflicting information about the degree to which Henderson’s department knew of and disclosed the magnitude of the problems in the unemployment program, Attorney General Dave Yost wrote in the letter.
Yost wrote to Columbus Police and the Ohio State Highway Patrol that the auditor’s office “did not have confidence in the financial information provided by the Department of Job and Family Services or its then director, Kimberly (Hall) Henderson.” He asked the police to determine if there were any criminal violations by the director or any staff member.
The department did not implement federally required controls to monitor fraud and overpayment, and did not disclose to the auditor knowledge of suspected fraud, the attorney general wrote.
Neither police department has responded to requests from the Observer about the outcome of the investigation.
A subsequent audit in October 2021 found $475 million in fraudulent payments were made to people who did not qualify, with an additional $3.3 billion in overpayments.
This story was originally published February 7, 2022 at 4:32 PM.
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