A former program director at a Des Moines nonprofit has pleaded guilty in federal court to stealing money from a federally funded workforce program, more than a year after a state audit first detailed hundreds of thousands of dollars in improper spending.
Jodi Dyan Spargur-Tate, 55, of Colfax, pleaded guilty April 23 to one count of theft from a federal program, according to a Monday, April 27, news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
“Spargur-Tate stole money meant to help Americans find work. Her guilty plea proves we will relentlessly pursue fraudsters,” U.S. Department of Labor Inspector General Anthony P. D’Esposito said in the DOJ release. “Game the system, and we will find you and hold you accountable.”
Spargur-Tate, who worked at Children and Families of Iowa from 2015 to 2022, admitted she submitted false reimbursement requests and falsified invoices and receipts to obtain money for herself and her family members, rather than for program participants, according to court documents.
She is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 25 and faces up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and up to three years of supervised release. A federal judge will determine the sentence.
The guilty plea marks a turning point in a case that began with a January 2025 report from the Iowa State Auditor’s Office, which found that Spargur-Tate improperly spent roughly $427,000 in public and donated funds over several years. A follow-up report later put the total at $436,180.
For months, no criminal charges were filed, and state and local prosecutors said they had not received a referral. Sonya Heitshusen, public information officer for the Auditor of State, later said the case had been referred to federal prosecutors, who were “in the process of deciding whether this will be pled out or they will go to trial.”
According to federal court records, prosecutors charged Spargur-Tate with theft from a federally funded program on April 23, the same day she waived her right to indictment and pleaded guilty.
Court records show scope of fraud
From April 2015 through May 2022, Spargur-Tate served as the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Title I program director at Children and Families of Iowa, overseeing programs for youth, adults and dislocated workers, according to the plea agreement. During that time, she engaged in a “scheme and plan to fraudulently obtain money” from the nonprofit.
She admitted to submitting more than 250 fraudulent reimbursement requests for goods and services that were either never purchased or were for her personal use or that of her family, according to the plea agreement. To secure those payments, she submitted falsified invoices and receipts and misrepresented the purpose of the expenses.
Spargur-Tate also admitted to directing more than 100 payments to a family member and to companies providing housing, utilities and cell phone services for herself and her family, falsely claiming the expenses were for program participants.
Because Children and Families of Iowa received more than $10,000 annually in federal funding during the period, the case falls under federal jurisdiction.
The funds at issue were part of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, a federal job training program administered in Iowa through Iowa Workforce Development and local workforce boards.
The scheme was uncovered in May 2022, when, while Spargur-Tate was on vacation, an employee reviewing records flagged a payment for auto repairs for a participant who did not own a car, triggering an internal review that led to her termination and a broader audit.
Under the plea agreement, Spargur-Tate agreed to pay restitution in an amount to be determined by the court. The agreement does not resolve any potential civil claims by Children and Families of Iowa or its insurer.
The government “agrees as a recommendation to the District Court that Defendant receive credit for acceptance of responsibility,” meaning prosecutors will ask a judge to reduce her sentence for pleading guilty, the agreement said.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General and the Des Moines Police Department, and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
Nick El Hajj is a reporter at the Register. He can be reached at nelhajj@gannett.com. Follow him on X at @nick_el_hajj.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa nonprofit leader pleads guilty in $400,000 federal fraud case
Reporting by Nick El Hajj, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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