Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part series.
Arkansas State Police are investigating the Committee Against Spouse Abuse (CASA) Women’s Shelter, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking, following accusations of financial mismanagement, forgery and embezzlement.
Eleventh West Circuit Prosecuting Attorney Kyle Hunter said he expects to see the results of the investigation “sooner rather than later,” adding that the state police have been working on the case “for some time.”
No criminal charges have been filed against any individuals associated with CASA.
The shelter, which serves Southeast Arkansas, has been the subject of multiple audits, monitoring reviews and investigations, resulting in findings of misappropriation of funds and procedural violations. The investigation began after Jefferson County Sheriff Lafayette Woods Jr., a CASA board member, formally requested an independent investigation in May 2024 by the state police to ensure transparency and impartiality.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Records obtained by The Commercial through the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act show accusations of financial mismanagement, including what has been described as forgery, embezzlement and misuse of grant funds. A monitoring report by the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) sent to Tamela Garth, the current CASA executive director, in September 2024, uncovered what she said was more than $73,000 in unsubstantiated expenses, duplicate payments and violations of conflict-of-interest rules, prompting demands for repayment and involvement by the state police.
“These findings threaten the shelter’s financial stability and its ability to provide critical services to vulnerable victims in southeast Arkansas,” said board Chair Dr. Simmie Armstrong.
According to documents, the DHS investigation began in February 2024 and lasted for almost a week.
Background and accusations
The claims stem from whistleblower reports and internal investigations, prior to the DHS investigation, that revealed suspected forgery and embezzlement by prior management.
Karen Palmer served as executive director from 1990 to 2022. She recommended Peggy Tillman as her successor, according to the documents. The CASA board of directors approved Tilman to take over from Palmer, who was having health issues at the time. Both Palmer and Tillman deny any wrongdoing.
A key issue highlighted in the documents is the purported double-billing of grants, specifically the ESG (Emergency Solutions Grants) and VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) funds.
“What was found was that if they reimbursed for $10,000 for whatever reason … they got the money from ESG. But then they turned around to VOCA and submitted that same invoice and got another $10,000 from them. So they were double-billing,” Armstrong explained.
According to Armstrong, CASA board members began an internal investigation because of discrepancies in CASA’s financial statements, including payments to vendors for services not rendered.
In June 2023, when The Commercial reported that the CASA Women’s Shelter fired Palmer, Armstrong said that he couldn’t discuss the matter because of the sensitive nature of the issue.
“We had some serious issues develop, and we had to make some changes for the benefit of the shelter,” Armstrong said at the time.
Asked for more details, Armstrong said he couldn’t say.
“This is a personnel matter, and not something I can shed more light on at this time,” he said then.
Audit review findings
Two years later, Armstrong has come forward. He said he has discovered forged signatures, including his own, on state and federal documents, jeopardizing the shelter’s funding. Preliminary evidence suggests unauthorized transactions and discrepancies in financial statements, he said.
In March 2024, monitoring reviews by the Arkansas Department of Human Services and the Department of Finance and Administration identified several instances of financial mismanagement during the grant periods of October 2020 to September 2023. Key findings include:
• Duplicate payments: Payroll costs for an employee were billed to both the DFA VOCA grant and the Arkansas Coalition of Sexual Assault (ACASA) Human Trafficking grant, resulting in a duplication of $12,559.60.
• Unsubstantiated expenses: Payments for salaries, bus tickets, classroom furniture and security systems lacked supporting documentation, totaling $73,239.37 in overpayments.
• Conflict of interest: Payments were made to a vendor whose wife was employed by CASA, violating conflict-of-interest regulations.
• Ineligible expenses: Costs related to the Purple Purse thrift store and domestic violence materials were deemed unallowable under grant guidelines.
The monitoring report also noted a discrepancy in CASA’s financial management practices. It was reported that checks issued under the ESG program were signed by unauthorized personnel — Palmer and Tillman — instead of the designated signatories outlined in CASA’s Financial Management Policy, according to Armstrong. He stated the policy requires checks to be signed by two of three authorized individuals: the board president, treasurer or executive director.
Further claims stemming from the audit findings include the use of fraudulent invoices for services and equipment that were never rendered or received. Armstrong detailed instances where “the ice maker totaled about $3,000 from some company that, when they called the number on the invoice, it wasn’t a good service number.”
According to the monitoring report, during the visit, CASA could not locate an ice machine for which DHS provided reimbursement. There was also no physical proof of classroom furniture, though there was documentation of a purchase.
“There were several invoices; the numbers were not any good, as if they made up the invoices,” Armstrong said. “It showed an ESG grant that they bought a playground totaling over $6,000. There’s no playground here.”
Former staff were also reportedly “writing themselves $10,000 retirement checks.” Armstrong noted that while pulling money from a 401(k) account typically incurs taxes, “they were just having the CPA just cut them a check for that amount.” Armstrong clarified that these funds came from an “endowed situation” and were being paid out in an “ongoing” rather than a one-time retirement benefit, which was “not proper.”
One specific instance of forgery regarded a grant document in 2021-22, where a DHS employee presented a document to Armstrong with his forged signature.
“She has known my signature for over 20 years; she began to notice it wasn’t my signature,” Armstrong said.
The current administration, according to Armstrong, is “still trying to figure out what happened to money from two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans deposited into a “special savings account” that has since been closed. According to documents obtained by The Commercial, CASA in Pine Bluff received two PPP loans totaling over $250,000, according to documents from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
The first loan for $120,300 was approved on April 27, 2020. The organization reported that this loan helped retain 18 jobs. A second loan for $134,334 was approved on Feb. 11, 2021, and was used to retain 21 jobs. Both loans were secured through The Farmers & Merchants Bank.
The PPP, a government-backed loan program under the federal CARES Act, was designed to help businesses and non-profits keep their workforce employed during the covid-19 pandemic. The loans were eligible for full forgiveness if the funds were used for designated purposes, such as payroll costs, mortgage interest, rent, and utility costs. The SBA’s last update on the status for both loans was in March 2021.
While the former director claimed to have paid staff during covid-19, the current staff dispute this.
“Everybody was at home, even she was at home,” Armstrong said. “Nobody got paid during that time.”
According to personnel records obtained by The Commercial, Tillman and Palmer were terminated on June 2, 2023, and had until July 21, 2023, to turn in all CASA property.
Palmer had served as director for more than 30 years. In a June 2023 interview after her termination, Palmer described how she had developed an eye condition and because of that she decided to leave the executive director position and take a new agency position that she funded through a grant.
Palmer said the next 12 months were rocky at the shelter, from a personnel standpoint, causing her to file a whistleblower complaint. Palmer also said she asked for accommodations for her eye problem under the Americans With Disabilities Act. About 60 days after she asked for the assistance, she worked a full day and went home to find a notice that she had a certified letter at the post office.
“I knew what it was,” she said at the time. “I went to the post office early the next morning. The letter said my services were no longer needed and that Arkansas is an at-will state. Sincerely, Dr. Armstrong and Santrice Kearney, another board member. As soon as I got sick, they took my job away from me. I assisted 9,833 clients to escape their abusive homes. I had planned to hit 10,000 but was axed instead.”
“I never once got into trouble,” she said during the previous interview. “My personnel file is full of training I’ve been through and certificates I’ve earned. I’ve never been late for work, never took a two-hour lunch. I tripled the program and the staff over the years. We really set the example for a shelter in the state. And now they won’t even let me go in and get my personal belongings.”
Asked what financial condition the shelter was in, Palmer said the agency has a treasurer and an auditor.
“We are very transparent,” she said. “We don’t deal with cash. We use a system of reimbursements, which is a well-thought-out system that nonprofits have been using for years and years. There’s not a dime missing.”
Tillman files lawsuit
In March 2024, Tillman filed a civil lawsuit against CASA, stating the opposite of what Palmer said when it came to “not a dime missing.” The lawsuit was amended in May 2024 and dismissed in March 2025.
The lawsuit, filed in circuit court against CASA, outlines a series of claims regarding mismanagement of grant funds, internal policy violations, and retaliation for whistleblowing.
Tillman was promoted to executive director on June 29, 2022, at Palmer’s recommendation after Palmer stepped down. Tillman claimed she was terminated after reporting financial irregularities and compliance issues to state agencies.
According to the complaint, Tillman discovered improper handling of state and federal grant funds, including duplicative reimbursements, unreported income and payments for hours not worked. She claims that when she assumed the office of executive director, she identified several invoices that were billed prior to her assuming office.
According to Tillman’s complaint, these invoices concerned her as it appeared that CASA was making large reimbursements directly to employees who were not supported by proper documentation and hence, were questionable.
For example, Tillman claims she identified large expense checks written to a former employee’s husband. These checks were paid by CASA before she assumed the office of executive director, according to her complaint.
The lawsuit details Tillman’s concerns about CASA’s financial practices, including the mishandling of certificates of deposit funded by the VOCA grant. Tillman claims these funds were improperly released to employees without being reported as income, violating IRS and state regulations.
Additionally, she claims that CASA received double reimbursements for an employee’s salary during the 2022-23 grant cycle.
Tillman states in her complaint that she repeatedly attempted to address these issues with CASA’s board, but her concerns were ignored. She claims that her efforts to ensure compliance with grant regulations and prevent fraudulent payments led to her suspension and eventual termination.
On Feb. 7, 2023, Tillman states in her complaint, she emailed the executive members of CASA’s board asking for a meeting to discuss her ongoing concerns. She alleges that her efforts to address these issues were met with resistance from CASA’s employees and board, but she was able to speak with one board member at length regarding her concerns later that month.
On Feb. 23, 2023, Tillman states, she was informed that she was being placed on administrative leave while an investigation was being conducted into her performance. According to the dismissed lawsuit, Tillman says she was investigated as a result of complaints from staff members who were angry about the changes she was implementing as executive director. These changes included ensuring that funds paid to employees were reported as income and refusing to pay employees for hours they did not work, according to her complaint.
The investigation, according to the complaint, was initiated after Tillman repeatedly raised concerns about the mishandling of grant funds and violations of internal policies.
Tillman claims on May 12, 2023, during a board meeting, she learned that one of her employees had incorrectly billed the salary paid to an employee, resulting in double reimbursements. On May 17, 2023, she claims, she reported the improper grant billing to Debbie Bousquet, grant manager at the Arkansas DFA, which oversaw the grant that CASA received. Tillman said she informed Armstrong via email that she was reporting the issue, as she did not want the board to hold her responsible for not addressing this error.
Tillman claims that after finding out she had made these reports to CASA and the state, she was terminated on June 5, 2023.
Repayment Of Funds
On Sept. 9, 2024, CASA was directed to refund $13,298 to the DFA’s Office of Intergovernmental Services (DFA-IGS) following an investigation by DHS into duplicate payroll billings. The refund stems from errors in the billing process that resulted in payroll costs for a single employee being submitted to two separate grants for reimbursement.
According to documents obtained by The Commercial, the issue was first brought to light in June 2023 when the ACASA claimed that CASA Women’s Shelter had duplicated expenses by billing payroll costs for an employee to both the DFA-VOCA grant and ACASA’s Human Trafficking grant. The reported duplication occurred between Oct. 1, 2022, and Jan. 26, 2023, with the total amount initially estimated to exceed $30,000.
DFA-IGS initiated an investigation into the matter, allowing CASA Women’s Shelter to engage an independent CPA firm to audit its records. However, the audit did not cover the period in question. Subsequently, DFA-IGS conducted an on-site compliance review in July 2024, examining payroll records, invoices and disbursement information for the overlapping grant periods.
The review revealed that while payroll costs for the employee were billed to both grants, the employee did not receive duplicate payments. Payroll checks issued to the employee matched the time sheet and payroll reports processed by Paychex, the shelter’s outsourced payroll service provider. The duplication was limited to the submission of payroll costs for reimbursement to both DFA-IGS and ACASA, rather than actual duplicate payments to the employee.
According to Armstrong, the investigation and subsequent refund came during a period of significant staffing changes at CASA Women’s Shelter. The organization underwent administrative shifts in 2023, including the release of Palmer, Tillman and other key staff members.
Teresa Lindsey, who briefly served as executive director, was replaced by Tamela Garth in October 2023.
The financial fallout has been severe, however. CASA’s board submitted a formal request to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on June 9, 2025, for a waiver of repayment, citing unintentional misuse of funds and undue financial hardship, but was denied, according to Garth.
The shelter has completed repaying funds to both VOCA and ESG, but was recently denied new funding from VOCA.
The organization proposed a repayment plan to DHS and DFA, including:
• An initial payment of $36,619.69, representing half of the total balance due.
• Monthly payments of $1,569.95 began in January 2025, extending through August 2025.
Both DHS and DFA accepted the repayment terms, with conditions that payments must be timely to avoid jeopardizing current subgrant awards. Armstrong said that because of the active status and the investigation, the shelter was not eligible to apply for the grants for the 2025-26 term.
He also admits to the lack of oversight and how the reported misconduct was facilitated by a lack of proper internal controls and oversight, including a “trust factor” with Palmer, Tillman, previous auditors and CPAs.
New Leadership Implementations
Under new leadership, CASA has implemented several measures to address the findings and prevent future issues.
• Payroll management: Engaged an external payroll company to ensure accurate tracking and processing of employee time sheet.
• Internal controls: Strengthened policies requiring dual signatures on checks and prohibiting family-related outsourcing.
• Inventory tracking: Established a system to document all purchased assets.
• Documentation standards: Mandated itemized invoices for all grant-related expenditures.
Armstrong said the loss of ESG funding, which previously covered 100% of the shelter’s utility expenses, has placed immense strain on the organization.
“We never had to pay the lights, water, trash bill, or any utility,” he said. “Now, we are directly responsible for these costs, with the light bill alone expected to be around $1,400.”
According to Armstrong, the shelter is now struggling to maintain basic operations, relying on endowments and community donations for food and supplies. With approximately 10 families at the shelter, Armstrong said they are relying heavily on food donations from local businesses like Chick-fil-A, Super One, and Little Caesars to cover food supplies.
“The current administration has, unfortunately, tapped into some of their endowments to keep the shelter running,” said Armstrong, raising concerns about the long-term sustainability of these funds.
Garth said the ongoing investigation has also affected the shelter’s reputation, and her efforts and ability to secure new grants.
“Every time there’s a grant that’s awarded, they come back and pull it,” she lamented, attributing it to “what’s going on.”
She added: “This has made it difficult to rebuild trust with donors and the community.”
Garth said the current situation has prevented them from accessing new grants, including a recently approved $103,000 ESG grant that was later pulled.
Both Garth and Kearney have expressed frustration and said the firm representing CASA couldn’t complete a proper audit due to missing financial records from 2020-22. The lack of proper recordkeeping and oversight also led to the shelter losing its nonprofit status, requiring a $1,500 payment to regain it, according to Armstrong.
This cyclical problem further exacerbates their financial difficulties, according to Garth. She said community members have also come forward with stories of donated items, intended for the shelter, being sold by staff members.
She is also concerned about ongoing monetary donations to a Cash App account, established by the previous director under CASA, to which the current staff lacks access.
As the state police investigation is ongoing, Armstrong stated that the current administration is cooperating fully and providing all requested documentation.
While some aspects remain confidential due to personnel matters and the active investigation, Armstrong states the board is looking to address the public’s concerns and restore confidence in the shelter’s operations.
“I think somebody has to get out and let the public know in a community that the board has dealt with this issue,” he said. “Now we’re trying to restore the trust.”
In Sunday’s part two, Karen Palmer and Peggy Tillman defend their actions while at CASA.
