Carleena Graham Sentenced For Defrauding Federal Program Funding Recipient

Burlington, Vermont - The United States Attorney’s Office stated that Carleena Graham, 57, of Accokeek, Maryland, was sentenced today in United States District Court in Burlington to four years of probation following her guilty plea to a charge of wire fraud. As a condition of probation, Chief U.S. District Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford ordered that Graham make a final restitution payment of $209,000 within 60 days. Graham had previously paid $210,000 in restitution.

On May 31, 2023, the United States filed a one count information charging Graham with wire fraud. The defendant pleaded guilty to that charge last summer. According to the information, the victim, World Learning, is a non-profit global development and exchange organization that delivers educational and professional training programs, and people-to-people exchange opportunities around the world. World Learning had headquarters in Brattleboro, Vermont and Washington, D.C. World Learning received millions of dollars in federal funding from the United States Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development.

In 2014, World Learning hired Graham as the Director of Human Resources. She was subsequently promoted to Divisional Vice President of Human Resources and then to Vice President of Human Resources. Graham worked in World Learning’s Washington office. By reason of her positions of trust, Graham had access to a World Learning credit card that was to be used for human resources purposes.

At the time she was employed by World Learning, Graham also held positions at or had relationships with other non-profit and charitable organizations in the Washington, D.C. area (together the “third-party organizations”). Beginning in approximately 2016 and continuing until the middle of 2022, Graham orchestrated a scheme to defraud World Learning of hundreds of thousands of dollars. As part of the scheme, Graham arranged for goods and services to be delivered to the third-party organizations, and then fraudulently arranged for World Learning to pay for these goods and services via electronic transfers of funds from its Vermont bank account.  Graham falsified invoices submitted by vendors for payment of the goods and services to make them appear as though World Learning was the recipient of the goods and services. Graham often misused her access to World Learning’s credit cards to cause World Learning to pay the expenses incurred by the third-party organizations. World Learning suffered a loss of $419,000 because of this fraud.

United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commends the excellent work of the Offices of Inspector General of both the U.S. State Department and the Agency for International Development, who partnered to investigate this case. These Offices are committed to protecting the people, programs and financial resources of the State Department and the Agency for International Development. “This result demonstrates the significant consequences for individuals who defraud organizations responsible for implementing critical U.S. foreign assistance programs,” said USAID OIG Special Agent in Charge Jason Donnelly and Chris Hileman, Special Agent in Charge of the State Department’s OIG. “Our agencies, through their global investigative activities, will continue to work with the Department of Justice and other law enforcement counterparts to detect, disrupt, and hold accountable those whose schemes compromise the work of the State Department and USAID around the world.”

Graham is represented by Walter Reynoso, Esq. of Coral Gables, Florida and Christina Nolan, Esq. of Burlington, Vermont. The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples.