Urban League of Long Island ex-CEO Theresa Sanders says she is owed $250G

Theresa Sanders, the former longtime president of the Urban League of Long Island who is being sued by the organization for alleged financial improprieties, has filed a counter claim, contending the organization owes her $250,000 for taking a reduced salary over several years.

Sanders also appealed a judge’s Aug. 29 ruling ordering her to step down from the nonprofit even as it announced a new interim president and transitional board on Monday.

The counter claim filed in state Supreme Court in Nassau County on Thursday states that Sanders, who has been accused of mismanaging $200,000 of the organization's money, took a reduced salary in 2019. Her attorney, E. Christopher Murray, said she also took a reduced salary in 2018, 2020 and 2021 and has not received health and retirement benefits since 2019.

“When the Urban League was having difficult [financial] times, she was not paid her agreed-upon salary,” Murray said Monday. “She is owed that money.”

The court documents don't specify how much her salary was reduced. Sanders said in the documents that she was being paid her full $99,352 salary when state Supreme Court Judge Christopher G. Quinn ruled last month she had to resign from the organization and turn in her equipment.

Quinn's ruling did not address the allegations of financial improprieties, and Sanders has denied wrongdoing.

Her counter claim also asks that the Urban League post $107,500 to secure potential damages stemming from the August order, which would cover the loss of her annual salary plus the $7,500 she spent on attorney fees opposing the motion.

The case is due back in court Sept. 20.

Sanders declined to comment on the latest legal actions but said she is “still working personally and professionally in the community.”

Urban League of Long Island interim board chair Su Chen and the organization’s attorney, Andrew Preston, also declined to comment.

The organization on Monday announced that Nicole Jones has been named interim president and CEO, the position Sanders held for more than 30 years. Jones is the former project director for the organization and a business consultant.

The nonprofit's transition board members are Isaiah Grigg, Jude Massillon, Stacie Murry, Lance Ware and Don Sinkfield, according to a news release. Three former board members resigned earlier this summer.

The Urban League's lawsuit follows a leadership battle between Chen and Sanders at the Plainview-based organization, which advocates for economic and social justice for Black people and other minorities and offers academic, youth employment and training and community service programs.

The nonprofit sued Sanders in state Supreme Court last month, alleging an audit revealed Sanders mismanaged its money.

Chen was named interim board chair in April and said in court papers she immediately noticed financial issues at the nonprofit, where Sanders was the lone employee. Their relationship soon deteriorated, with Sanders alleging that Chen made “erratic demands and threats” and Chen accusing Sanders of stealing from the nonprofit, according to court documents.

A June 7 letter from the National Urban League said the local chapter was being placed on probation and had 45 days to conduct a forensic audit, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit says the audit uncovered nearly $200,000 in improperly documented expenses, including a $43,046 check to the Internal Revenue Service to have a tax lien removed from Sanders’ home. According to the lawsuit, auditors also questioned expenses from a trip to an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic for Sanders and her daughter, nearly $4,500 in ATM withdrawals and other expenses. Murray has said they were business-related expenses.

Sanders had said Chen did not have standing to bring the lawsuit because she had been removed as board chair. Quinn sided with Chen in his August ruling, stating that the vote to remove Chen violated the group's bylaws and she had standing to bring the lawsuit.

A spokeswoman for Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly previously confirmed an ongoing investigation into the matter, declining additional comment.

By Vera Chinese

vera.chinese@newsday.com@VeraChinese

Vera Chinese joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.