Director of Nebraska nonprofit spent state funds on husband’s food truck, auditor says

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The director of a Tecumseh nonprofit is accused of spending state funds on her husband’s food truck.

On Monday, Nebraska State Auditor Mike Foley detailed the allegations made against Bobbie Meints, the former executive director of Five Rivers Resource Conservation & Development.

Between 2020 and 2023, Five Rivers received $310,768.12 in funding.  Foley said 91% of that money came from state agencies, including the Nebraska Department of Agriculture.

Over a five-year period, Meints diverted around $220,000 in funds to Arley’s LLC, a food truck based in Steinauer that is owned by her husband, according to Foley.

In total, investigators found at least 200 “improper” payments to Arley’s via a Five Rivers credit card, which was controlled by Meints, Foley said in a press release.

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Foley also said Meints gave herself “questionable payroll and expense reimbursement payments.”

The information gathered in the state auditor’s investigation is being forwarded to the Attorney General’s Office for further review.

“What occurred at Five Rivers RC&D is a prime example of how public monies are placed at serious risk of misuse when a governing board of directors is inattentive to the day-to-day operations of a director under its control,” Foley said in a press release. “Even more disturbing, no effort seems to have been made by the governmental bodies that provided most of Five Rivers RC&D’s funding to ensure that those taxpayer dollars were being spent and accounted for appropriately.”

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