Authorities say they have unraveled an elaborate fraud by a former official from Habitat for Humanity to bilk the charity of more than $100,000.
Former construction manager Donald McBee is accused of using dummy companies to steer money into his personal accounts, according to the Eagle Police Department. McBee is accused of defrauding Habitat for Humanity of Eagle and Lake Counties more than $100,000 through phony invoices for work and goods that never existed.
McBee, 61, of Fairplay was arrested on a charge of felony theft last week, the Eagle Police Department said. He is free on $100,000 bond.
Court records show McBee has had several run-ins with law enforcement over the years. He was charged with assault and false imprisonment in Park County in 2006, though the charges were later dropped. He was charged with felony theft in Park County in 2004, but those charges also were later dropped, records show.
McBee's money problems dating back more than a decade also are evident in court records, including a $50,000 federal tax lien in Massachusetts filed last December and a $116,122 child-support lien in Park County in 2006. He also has been sued several times by creditors, records show.
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
