Elizabeth Simpers, the former president of the Wake Forest Chamber was accused of fraudulently misapplying more than $69,000.00 meant for the Wake Forest Chamber of Commerce.
Simpers was accused of using the Chamber’s monies for personal expenses, such as a party bus rental, orthopedic services, residential plumbing repairs, Amazon purchases, and home improvements. Simpers resigned from the Chamber in 2024. She had been a member of the Wake Forest Board of Commissioners before her role as president.
Chambers had previously faced similar allegations when working at the YMCA of the Triangle in Raleigh, North Carolina before her role in the Wake Forest Chamber. As a result of the allegations against Ms. Simpers, the Town of Wake Forest began requiring the Chamber President or the Board of Directors Chair to attend a future Board of Commissioners meeting and describe any processes in place to safeguard not only the Town’s contributions, but also the contributions of all chamber members.
In addition, within weeks of Jim Thompson taking over as president the board adopted a comprehensive financial controls policy manual to safeguard against future misconduct and enhance transparency, the chamber said.
These new safeguards are good additions to the internal controls of the Chamber and will aid in bringing more transparency to the use of funds by authorized representatives. Creating procedures to increase transparency reduces the likelihood of fraud that often comes with an individual have access without segregation of duties and oversight.
Photo by Viridiana Rivera
