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Watchdog finds evidence of possible corruption by nonprofit working to revitalize JP
The Three Squares Main Street program submitted altered bank statements to the city, the Boston Finance Commission determined.
Boston’s independent watchdog agency recently investigated a nonprofit that is part of the city’s Main Streets initiative and found evidence of the potential misuse of federal funds. This evidence included altered bank statements that show discrepancies of tens of thousands of dollars.
The investigation, conducted by the Boston Finance Commission, looked into the finances of the Jamaica Plain-based Three Squares Main Street program. The organization is one of 20 that works to support local businesses, create jobs, and overall revitalize each of Boston’s neighborhood commercial districts.
Details of the investigation were included in a recent report from the Finance Commission. Three Squares received three federal grants, including two that utilized pandemic-relief funds allocated to local governments through the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021. The three grants totaled $145,000. The money was deposited into a commingled bank account, according to the report.
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Three Squares was required to provide bank statements to the city so that officials could make sure the funds were being spent in proper accordance with the grants. Since Three Squares received multiple grants, it had to provide the city with multiple bank statements from the same time period.
A city employee found alterations in the bank statements, and the matter was referred to the Finance Commission for an investigation.
“Several of the altered statements appeared to change not only the payee but also greatly increased the payments,” Matthew Cahill, executive director of the Finance Commission, wrote in the report.
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The report included a chart showing transactions from an original bank statement and those from an altered statement. The original had transactions from August 2023 through May 2024 that total $375.55. The largest payment was made to Comcast, and five other transactions were made to PayPal.
In the report, Cahill said that two of the original payees are of note: PayPal and Affirm. The latter is a company that allows customers to pay for purchases over time.
The altered statement showed different payees like Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Staples. The transactions from the altered statement total $32,447.33.
A representative from Three Squares could not be reached for comment Friday. A phone number for Three Squares listed on the city’s website appears to have been disconnected. Messages sent to multiple email addresses associated with the organization were not answered. The Three Squares website also appears to have been taken down.
“We’re grateful for City staff who have been working to ensure oversight of every dollar of federal funds spent on pandemic recovery, including grants to nonprofit organizations. Through their diligence, these financial irregularities were identified and reported to the appropriate agencies to take action. The City will continue to support any further investigation, and is undertaking a further audit to ensure full accountability,” a spokesperson for the Wu administration said in a statement.
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This was an initial investigation. The Finance Commission recommended that the city continue to withhold funds from Three Squares and “cease all communications until this matter is resolved.” The agency also recommended that Three Squares and all Main Streets programs be subject to an audit.
The city has contracted an independent auditor to conduct this oversight. Those findings should be made public once the audits are completed, Cahill said.
The Finance Commission will give its report and associated evidence to the state Inspector General’s Office and potentially other law enforcement agencies.
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