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Jury convicts Chicago woman for spending grants on herself

Posted May 25, 2017 7:00 am

The Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) - Federal jurors have convicted the head of a Chicago nonprofit for spending a state grant earmarked for youth-jobs programs on herself.

They took under an hour Thursday to find 39-year-old Franshuan Myles of Divine Praise Inc. guilty of wire and mail fraud for misusing a $60,000 Illinois Youth Recreation Corps grant.

Prosecutors displayed records showing Myles used grant money on car payments, clothes and home-improvement supplies. During closings Thursday in Chicago, prosecutor Abigail Peluso said Myles knew "exactly what she was doing."

Defense lawyer Michael Petro insisted Myles was "an idealist" who fully intended to help low-income teenagers on the West Side. He said she was simply in "over her head" managing the grant and inadvertently comingled funds.

Sentencing is Sept. 6. Each count carries a maximum 20-year prison term.

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