Ex-director allegedly stole $209K from student lobbyist organization

Maceo Brown resigned by e-mail before being questioned about funds

by Kristi Eaton published on Friday, April 28, 2006

The Arizona Students Association accused its former director Thursday of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the organization for his own personal use.

Between January 2002 and January 2006, Maceo Brown allegedly stole $209,056.31 from the student advocacy group.

Brown was executive director of ASA from May 2001 to January 2006.

Funding for the organization comes from a one-dollar-per-semester fee that each student at every Arizona public university pays.

ASA advocates at the state Legislature for issues relating to higher education, including tuition increases and voter registration.

Jess Koldoff, president of the Graduate and Professional Student Association, said the discovery came at the end of January when staff members realized their insurance coverage had not been paid for.

"We were shocked," Koldoff said.

Serena Unrein, the interim executive director, said Brown cleaned out his office and left his post in January before he could be questioned.

"He resigned by e-mail," she said. "He essentially abandoned the organization."

They looked at Brown's bookkeeping and saw there was some misappropriated money, Unrein added.

According to the lawsuit filed Thursday in Maricopa County Superior Court, staff members examined the December 2005 bank statement.

They discovered the ASA account had charges for restaurants and "unknown medical expenses including a visit to the dermatologist," it stated.

When Brown was confronted, he said the money was a "cash advance," the lawsuit said.

According to the lawsuit, Brown also advanced about $750 to himself "due to financial difficulties of flying to Houston, Texas, three times in one month."

The majority of the money was reportedly transferred from the ASA account to an American Express card, the lawsuit said.

According to the lawsuit, ASA does not use American Express.

Koldoff said Brown was covering up the stolen money by doctoring bank statements and altering and destroying budgets and records.

Koldoff added that Brown did not admit to stealing the money.

"He played down everything," she said.

Brown did not return phone calls seeking comment.

After the discovery, ASA hired an auditor to determine how much money was stolen, Koldoff said.

"At that point we realized it was an extensive amount," she said.

ASA alerted the Arizona Attorney General's office, Koldoff said.

A spokeswoman from the Attorney General's office would not confirm if an investigation was taking place.

ASA also hired attorney Ryan Anderson to represent the organization in the case against Brown.

Koldoff said the organization has undergone several changes since the incident.

"It's really made the student board take a hard look to see that we are acting responsibly," she said.

The bylaws and policies of the organization are undergoing an overhaul, Koldof said.

A board member will now chair ASA meetings, instead of the executive director, she said.

There would also be monthly and semi-annual internal audits, as well as annual audits conducted by an independent organization.

Koldoff said the incident would not affect ASA's mission.

"We'll continue to advocate for students at the Legislature," she said.

ASA sponsors all of the student governments at the public universities in Arizona.

Reach the reporter at kristi.eaton@asu.edu.