More than two years after the Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative (ELNC) announced it was closing its doors due to having millions of dollars embezzled by employees, the former CEO and the former Director of Finance and Administration are being held accountable.
Former ELNC CEO Dr. Nkechy Ekere Ezeh, as well as former ELNC Director of Finance and Administration Sharon Killebre,w were accused of stealing more than $2.5 million combined from the nonprofit over the course of several years.
ELNC was a Grand Rapids-based non-profit organization that provided education to children in low-income families or challenging circumstances. ELNC closed its doors in 2023, following allegations that Ezeh and Killebrew were embezzling money from the organization, leaving it in a financial situation it could not recover from.
Earlier this year, Killebrew pled guilty to two charges and was sentenced to 54 months in prison, ordered to pay restitution of over $1.4 million and will be subject to a supervised release of two years following her incarceration.
"The people most affected by the crime are the children and their families who lost the support ELNC once provided. These were mostly children of color under the age of five years old, 72% of whom lived below the federal poverty level in some of the poorest neighborhoods in Kent County, Kalamazoo, and Battle Creek," the sentencing memo for Killebrew reads.
Just this week, 13 ON YOUR SIDE learned from court filings that the Ezeh had agreed to plead guilty to the charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and tax evasion.
The ELNC’s board of directors shared this statement following Ezeh's decision to plead guilty:
We welcome the news of Nkechy Ezeh’s acceptance of responsibility for reckless and unconscionable actions. The millions of dollars taken from ELNC forced the organization to close its doors and deprived children in Grand Rapids’, Kalamazoo’s and Battle Creek’s poorest neighborhoods of essential early childhood services needed to prepare them for kindergarten success.
Ezeh’s acceptance of the charges, and acknowledgment of her role as the architect of the scheme carried out with Sharon Killebrew against some of the community’s most vulnerable children and families, marks an important step toward the closure this board has sought for nearly three years. We now look ahead to the forthcoming hearings and sentencing. We are hopeful they will bring accountability and justice for all involved.
In Ezeh's plea agreement, she will plead guilty, pay $1.4 million in restitution, pay nearly $400,000 in back taxes and face possible prison time for the two charges.
The ELNC paid for children to have breakfast, lunch and transportation to and from preschool, court documents stated. The organization helped more than 400 children and their families in the last reporting year. The court documents also revealed that ELNC helped nearly 8,000 children during its lifetime.
Source: 61st District Court