Couple embezzled from non-profit, suit alleges

SANDPOINT - A Bonner County couple is being sued for allegedly embezzling more than $100,000 from the operators of a non-profit humanitarian group which does medical relief work in southern Africa.

 April and Jeff Matthews are being sued for fraud, conversion, unjust enrichment and breach of fiduciary duty, according to documents filed in 1st District Court.

The suit alleges the couple defrauded The Luke Commission, which provides free medical care to people in remote areas of Swaziland. The commission is operated by Dr. Harry VanderWal and his wife, Echo.

The Luke Commission has conducted more than a hundred mobile clinics in Swaziland since 2004. Along with medical care, the group provides HIV testing and counseling, prescriptions, eyeglasses and clothing to children who were orphaned by AIDS.

April Matthews was hired last year to do bookkeeping for The Luke Commission, in addition to the couple's personal finances and those of JLZ Enterprises, the VanderWals' real estate development company, the suit said.

While abroad in 2008, the VanderWals stayed in daily contact with April Matthews, who allegedly assured the couple that their finances were secure. The VanderWals returned to the country last month and discovered just the opposite.

"It was subsequently discovered that Mrs. Matthews embezzled virtually all of the monies from The Luke Commission and JLZ Enterprises, as well as the VanderWal's personal accounts," Toby McLaughlin, the plaintiffs' counsel, said in the suit.

April Matthews is accused of forging numerous checks to her husband and his landscaping company, Landshapes & Waterworks. Existing lines of credit were maxed out and new lines of credit were established using the names of company principals, according to the suit.

April Matthews allegedly concealed her deceit by contacting the VanderWal's Web master and reactivating a former e-mail address, which the suit said was used to divert correspondence away from the VanderWals. She also changed phone numbers and postal addresses on accounts to sustain the ruse, the suit contends.

April Matthews, the suit maintains, confessed to the embezzlement and admitted some of the proceeds were used to furnish her home with new appliances.

A phone listing for the defendants or Jeff Matthews' landscaping company could not be found on Monday. It was unclear if they have legal counsel.