LUMBERTON — The former director of the Southeastern Family Violence Center used the agency’s credit card to make personal purchases and signed off on payments to her daughter, according to a recent review of the center’s finances.

Officials with the N.C. Office of the State Auditor examined the center’s financial records April 17, April 18 and May 4. Auditors found a lack of internal controls and several incidents of noncompliance.

Since the release of the auditor’s report, the center has been penalized by the state and by the United Way of Robeson County.

The Auditor’s Office recommended that the N.C. Council for Women and Domestic Violence Commission ask that it be reimbursed at least $16,168.

The United Way board of directors voted this week to withhold $5,000 from the center. It also put the center on probation for a year. Center officials will have to give detailed reports to the United Way board of directors on how money is being spent.

Ginger Carter, the center’s former director, resigned in May. She declined to comment Wednesday.

Most of the violations cited in the report involved a $49,240 grant to help victims of domestic violence. The money is administered through the Council for Women and Domestic Violence Commission.

The center’s board of directors is working with funding agencies to resolve the matter, said Sherry Edwards, chairwoman of the center’s board of directors. The board also has approved measures to bring about more accountability.

“We are more accountable today than we were in April,” Edwards said. “I can say that with certainty.”

Auditors found that Carter used the center’s credit card to make $2,435 in personal purchases at Lowe’s. Carter repaid the money, according to the report. The center’s board was not aware of the purchases, the report states.

The report also says Carter’s daughter received $3,369.93 for transportation, tuition and books, through the domestic violence grant. That was considerably more than what other clients received, the report said. The review also showed that Carter signed off on several checks for her daughter. The auditor’s office questioned the chairwoman’s signature on some of the checks, saying the handwriting was different. Edwards said she did not sign checks for Carter’s daughter.

“In reviewing the grant documentation, we noted two instances where the executive director’s actions clearly resulted in a conflict of interest,” the report states. “We found no evidence that the board was aware of either situation.”

State officials also questioned the use of grant money for some fuel purchases. From January 2005 to February of this year, invoices for fuel totaled $14,142.67. Auditors identified 23 of the 364 gasoline purchases as being for a van belonging to the center.

The board has hired a bookkeeper and sent staff to accounting classes, Edwards said. It has adopted new policies and procedures to provide more oversight and has implemented other recommendations made by the auditor’s office.

“We have complied with the recommendation,” she said. “Not just in writing, but also within the spirit of the law. I think if we stick with the plan and do what we have to do, we will be fine.”

The board filed an ethics complaint with the state Social Work Certification and Licensure Board, which governs Carter’s clinical social work license.

“A lot of the things that we saw appeared to be ethical issues and not legal issues,” Edwards said. “Are we going to pursue this? Yes. Everyone has to be held accountable.”

The board would like to recoup the money that was misused, Edwards said.

“If I had my wish, I think I would like to see us sit down and sort this thing out through mediation,” Edwards said. “Everyone has suffered enough.”

The center, in its 25th year, serves 13 children and seven adults. The financial penalties will affect services, she said.

“I don’t think people realize the cost,” Edwards said. “We have to buy food for every one of these folks and provide clothing and school supplies for the children. We made mistakes; I will step up to that. But don’t penalize these families.”

The center receives about $300,000 a year in grants to operate the shelter. The board is considering establishing a line of credit to make payroll, Edwards said. The center has four full-time and five part-time employees.

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