An Oklahoma couple who founded a charity to help recovering drug addicts has been arrested for embezzling more than $100,000 from the charity’s funds for their personal use.
Jordan and Vanessa Parker from a 2020 Facebook post @The Reckless Saints of Nowhere
Jordan Parker, 39, and his wife Vanessa Parker, 29, of Pryor, Oklahoma, are charged with six counts of embezzlement for allegedly misusing the funds of the nonprofit they ran, Reckless Saints of Nowhere.
Jordan Parker started the charity with his wife in 2016 after he got sober following a 15-year struggle with addiction.
According to Yahoo News, the non-profit has placed more than 6,000 addicts from 22 states into drug and alcohol treatment centers at no cost to their families. Parker claims that “individuals placed in treatment centers by Reckless Saints of Nowhere have a success rate of over 85%. We only work with treatment centers that work to truly transform the addict’s life from the inside out. We provide transportation to treatment and eliminate all barriers to you getting help.”
The couple ran the charity in Pryor, a town the charity claimed was “at the heart of the opioid epidemic,” from 2017 to 2023. The charity used sales from branded apparel to fund much of the charity’s programs.
In 2021, Barna Foods Inc. donated $600,000 to help start the Reckless Saints of Nowhere Flight School in Salina, according to The Roys Report. The school was meant to function as a work release program to help those coming out of substance abuse addiction.
Court records reveal that eight months after receiving $600,000 in donations from Barna, Reckless Saints of Nowhere had little to no tangible assets to show. The couple ran the charity “with minimal oversight from its board of directors,” authorities say. They had access to and used the organization’s financial checks and debit cards to make purchases unrelated to the charity’s activities, according to the criminal complaint.
Access to MinistryWatch content is free. However, we hope you will support our work with your prayers and financial gifts. To make a donation, click here.
The Parkers are accused of using funds from the charity’s operating account to make large purchases from Amazon, Apple, Bluegreen Vacations, and Walmart, purchase two vehicles, including a Honda Pilot and a Harley Davidson motorcycle, and pay personal financial loans. The couple also allegedly used nearly $20,000 for a timeshare property.
The Oklahoma Attorney General’s office initiated the investigation after receiving several complaints from citizens alleging misappropriated charitable funds.
The couple has been released on $100,000 bail each and are due back in court this month.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Why does MinistryWatch report on financial fraud in the church? We report on them because one in three churches will be victimized, according to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity. We also report on them because these crimes have real victims and cost taxpayers and other stakeholders billions of dollars every year. Even small crimes in small churches have huge consequences. We also report on them to remind our readers that they do not have to be victims. There are steps you can take to prevent financial waste, fraud, and abuse in your church or ministry. To find out more, click here.
TO OUR READERS: Do you have a story idea, or do you want to give us feedback about this or any other story? Please email us: info@ministrywatch.com