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United States of America v. Barbara Harris
Date: 04-09-2026
Case Number: 1:22-cr-00110
Judge: Andrea R. Wood
Court: United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Cook County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: United States District Attorney's Office in Chicago
Defendant's Attorney: Frank Cece, Jr.
Description:
Chicago, Illinois, criminal defense lawyers represented the Defendant charged with fraud.
Barbara Harris served as the Executive Director of the Center for Community Academic Success Partnerships (CCASP), which received government grants to provide after-school programs to schools in the Chicago area. From 2012 to 2017, Harris schemed with another CCASP executive, TONY BELL, to submit grant applications that inflated CCASP’s projected annual expenses and falsely claimed that the organization would receive services from five subcontractors. In reality, Harris knew that the subcontractors, two of which were other non-profit groups run by Harris and Bell, provided no actual services to CCASP. The scheme resulted in approximately $1.8 million in losses to the Illinois Department of Education.
Harris also engaged in a separate fraud scheme before and after she was indicted in the CCASP fraud case. From 2021 to 2023, while serving as Co-Executive Director of another non-profit, specifically, the South Suburban Community Services (SSCS), Harris bilked the federally funded AmeriCorps VISTA program, which awards grants to non-profits working to bring communities out of poverty. Harris submitted grant applications falsely representing that VISTA members would work for SSCS programs in the south suburbs of Chicago. Harris knew, however, that those SSCS programs had already been funded. Harris nonetheless obtained approval for eleven VISTA members to work at SSCS, and none of them performed services in accordance with their assignment descriptions, causing a loss to the VISTA program of $98,699.
Harris, 55, of South Holland, Ill., pleaded guilty last year to a federal wire fraud charge and admitted her criminal conduct in both schemes.
“This type of crime erodes the public’s faith in non-profit organizations generally and the federal programs that fund these organizations,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Caitlin Walgamuth argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum in Harris’s case. “Additionally, because the misappropriated grant funds were competitive, Harris’s conduct likely denied other organizations critical federal funding opportunities.”
Barbara Harris served as the Executive Director of the Center for Community Academic Success Partnerships (CCASP), which received government grants to provide after-school programs to schools in the Chicago area. From 2012 to 2017, Harris schemed with another CCASP executive, TONY BELL, to submit grant applications that inflated CCASP’s projected annual expenses and falsely claimed that the organization would receive services from five subcontractors. In reality, Harris knew that the subcontractors, two of which were other non-profit groups run by Harris and Bell, provided no actual services to CCASP. The scheme resulted in approximately $1.8 million in losses to the Illinois Department of Education.
Harris also engaged in a separate fraud scheme before and after she was indicted in the CCASP fraud case. From 2021 to 2023, while serving as Co-Executive Director of another non-profit, specifically, the South Suburban Community Services (SSCS), Harris bilked the federally funded AmeriCorps VISTA program, which awards grants to non-profits working to bring communities out of poverty. Harris submitted grant applications falsely representing that VISTA members would work for SSCS programs in the south suburbs of Chicago. Harris knew, however, that those SSCS programs had already been funded. Harris nonetheless obtained approval for eleven VISTA members to work at SSCS, and none of them performed services in accordance with their assignment descriptions, causing a loss to the VISTA program of $98,699.
Harris, 55, of South Holland, Ill., pleaded guilty last year to a federal wire fraud charge and admitted her criminal conduct in both schemes.
“This type of crime erodes the public’s faith in non-profit organizations generally and the federal programs that fund these organizations,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Caitlin Walgamuth argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum in Harris’s case. “Additionally, because the misappropriated grant funds were competitive, Harris’s conduct likely denied other organizations critical federal funding opportunities.”
Outcome:
The Defendant was found guilty and was sentenced to a year in federal prison.
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments:
About This Case
What was the outcome of United States of America v. Barbara Harris?
The outcome was: The Defendant was found guilty and was sentenced to a year in federal prison.
Which court heard United States of America v. Barbara Harris?
This case was heard in United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Cook County), IL. The presiding judge was Andrea R. Wood.
Who were the attorneys in United States of America v. Barbara Harris?
Plaintiff's attorney: United States District Attorney's Office in Chicago. Defendant's attorney: Frank Cece, Jr..
When was United States of America v. Barbara Harris decided?
This case was decided on April 9, 2026.