Urban League of Long Island longtime chief executive Theresa Sanders must step down, judge rules

A Nassau County judge on Tuesday ruled that Theresa Sanders, the longtime chief executive of the Urban League of Long Island, must step down and turn over the nonprofit's possessions.

The ruling by Judge Christopher Quinn ends a leadership battle between Su Chen, identified in a lawsuit as the interim chair of the nonprofit’s board, and Sanders, who led the group for 30 years.

The three-page ruling, however, did not address allegations of financial improprieties raised against Sanders in the lawsuit by the Plainview-based organization, which advocates for economic and social justice for Black people and other minorities.

"It appears that despite the long history of ULLI and the good work that it performs, a caustic environment festered among the board members and including the president," Quinn wrote. "It also appears that complacency permitted a culture of fiscal irresponsibility to develop. All of the above seriously detracting from the mission of ULLI."

Quinn ruled that Sanders can no longer represent herself as an agent of the group and must return all Urban League of Long Island credit cards, checkbooks, ledgers, laptops, printers, vehicles and office keys, along with passwords and access to all computer programs, drives, folders, social media accounts, emails, telephone numbers, QuickBooks and PayPal accounts within five days of the order.

Sanders had wanted to move forward with a membership meeting on Aug. 31 to elect a new board of directors after three members resigned during the leadership fight that began earlier this year.

In an interview Tuesday night, Sanders said she was "disappointed" with the decision.

"But I will do what needs to be done to continue to make sure that the work that Urban League does is able to go forward," Sanders said. "We've served a lot of children and families over the years. So any transition that will be made, I'm happy to make it. And it doesn't mean that it's all over because there's still some allegations that I feel are unjustly waged against me. And I will continue to try to vindicate my name. And so that will continue. That's not going to go away."

Sanders has said that Chen was removed from the board this summer and did not have standing to file the lawsuit. 

In his ruling Tuesday, Quinn disagreed and said that the vote to remove Chen violated the group's bylaws and that Chen had standing to bring the lawsuit.

Sanders' attorney, E. Christopher Murray, did not respond to a request for comment.

Urban League sued Sanders earlier in August

Federal tax records show that Sanders is the lone employee of the Urban League of Long Island, although the group has an estimated 25 volunteers and occasionally employs consultants. In 2021, the nonprofit reported $512,424 in revenue and $300,290 in expenses, according to the group’s federal 990 tax form.

The group offers a host of academic, college preparatory, youth employment and training and community service programs.

The Urban League sued Sanders in state Supreme Court earlier this month, alleging a July forensic audit revealed she mismanaged its money. The group said in the lawsuit that it fired Sanders on Aug. 9 but that she is still publicly saying she represents the organization.

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

Chen and her attorney, Andrew Preston, declined to comment on Tuesday.

The lawsuit contends 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. 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, the suit states.

Murray previously said they were all business expenses and that the organization owes Sanders significant money for taking a reduced salary while it was undergoing financial issues.

The lawsuit came nearly a week after Chen sent a mass email to league members and community partners saying that Sanders was "no longer affiliated" with the group and that an interim leader would be appointed soon. Sanders disputed the announcement in a mass email the following day.

Affidavit: 'Troubled by the financial practices of ULLI'

In April, Chen became interim board chair of the 50-year-old local organization and said she immediately noticed problems.

“I became troubled by the financial practices of ULLI, particularly with respect to a pervasive lack of accountability, [oversight] and checks and balances,” Chen said in an affidavit attached to the lawsuit.

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. Accounting firm Fust Charles LLP issued its report July 31, according to the suit.

“There were red flags identified that provide easy opportunities to misappropriate assets of ULLl,” the audit states. “The red flags identified are a result of management of ULLI being controlled by a single person [President/CEO] … and there being no internal controls that were observed during the audit that supported segregation of duties and safeguarding of assets.”

The report listed $28,000 in out-of-town travel, nearly $24,000 in dining expenses and about $4,500 in groceries that could not be determined as business or personal expenses.

Before the audit was issued, a July 17 board meeting was called, where Chen was voted out of office, according to the suit.

Chen said the meeting was not conducted in accordance with the organization’s bylaws and was invalid. Quinn agreed and said any votes taken during that meeting were invalid.

An Aug. 3 letter sent by the National Urban League to Chen recommended the local affiliate take immediate disciplinary action against Sanders and that Chen be named interim director of a transitional board of directors to oversee a reorganization. If the Long Island chapter did not comply, it could lose its status as a National Urban League affiliate, according to the letter.

The letter said the organization would contact Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and the U.S. Department of Labor about transferring a $1.1 million federal grant the Urban League of Long Island received in 2022 to the national organization. 

With Vera Chinese

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.