The Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance, a 38-year-old nonprofit that administers an array of programs touching on human trafficking and victim support, improperly handled approximately $478,000 of expenditures, according to the U.S. Department of Justice’s inspector general.

The Denver Post reported that COVA received $1.6 million from the department in 2015 and 2018, but that COVA used some of the money for non-allowable purposes and in some instances did not provide receipts. Specifically, the audit found that gift cards COVA purchased to aid human trafficking clients did not have any documentation detailing what purchases were made, or even that the cards went to the clients. 

“Every single cent went to services,” COVA executive director Nancy Lewis told The Post. “There was never anywhere where they said there was fraud or malfeasance, and there wasn’t.”

Of the more than $10,000 in unallowable charges, $5,840 went toward hiring a Spanish-speaking intern, which COVA felt was justified to better communicate with clients. However, COVA did not receive approval from the federal Office of Justice Programs.

The inspector general questioned $467,780 in costs that resulted from insufficient documentation. In its response, COVA acknowledged that “there was a lack of supporting documentation for various performance measures including client entries, outreach and training entries, and partner entries. The staff who worked under this grant were each responsible for entering their own information … and it is our belief that this caused some of the inconsistencies.”