OLOL Foundation names interim president after ‘hundreds of thousands’ embezzled in scandal
BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - The Our Lady of the Lake Foundation announced Tuesday the appointment of an interim president following the firing of former foundation president, John Paul Funes, amid allegations of “hundreds of thousands” possibly stolen in embezzlement and forgery schemes.
A statement released by OLOL announced Christel Slaughter, Ph.D., would lead the foundation beginning November 26, leaning on her previous experience in organizational leadership to head the foundation’s operations until the foundation identifies a permanent replacement for Funes.
The statement can be read below:
"Christel Slaughter, Ph.D., has been appointed interim President of the Our Lady of the Lake Foundation. Dr. Slaughter brings extensive experience in public outreach and engagement, strategic planning, and organizational leadership. Currently serving as chief executive officer at SSA Consultants, she is dedicated to working with the Foundation Board and the Foundation team to move the organization and our ministry forward while we identify the right person to fill the position permanently. She will begin on November 26.”
The foundation is the fundraising arm of the hospital that raises money for projects like the new OLOL Children’s Hospital. The fundraising efforts include an annual event co-sponsored by WAFB in which five red cars are raffled off. The drawings have raised millions of dollars for the hospital over the years.
In early November, officials at The Our Lady of the Lake Foundation announced detectives from the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office, which is heading up the potential criminal investigation, paid a visit to OLOL for their first formal meeting with hospital administrators. During that meeting, they received the questionable records the hospital believed shows John Paul Funes embezzled what the district attorney says is several hundred thousand dollars. The hospital says it has hired a third party investigator to look into the missing money and after receiving their findings, they fired Funes.
An OLOL spokesman issued a statement, saying their investigation is ongoing.
It’s important to know every dollar will be restored and we will seek restitution from Mr. Funes. This will not impact our operations or the mission of Our Lady of the Lake or the Foundation. We are shocked and appalled at what we have learned. Our Lady of the Lake Foundation is integral to our healing ministry and helped us reach so many important goals that would have been unattainable otherwise. We have engaged Deloitte, a leading third-party financial audit firm, to review our process and procedures to evaluate the safeguards we have in place to protect our ministry. Mr. Funes’ actions in no way represent the values and mission of the Our Lady of the Lake and the Foundation, and the hundreds of volunteers and donors who have given so much over the years.
Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center
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