Ex-Richland Rotary official admits to stealing +$40K. He won’t go to jail
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Former Richland Rotary treasurer admitted siphoning nearly $40,000 in 2024.
- He repaid money and received a suspended 2-year sentence with conditions.
- WA state probe revoked his adviser registration and flagged unethical practices.
A former Richland Rotary foundation treasurer admitted to siphoning nearly $40,000 in what he called a “moment of extreme need.”
Charles A. Cook, 51, apologized during a Friday sentencing hearing for the damage to the foundation, which raises money for the Richland branch of the international humanitarian service group.
“I had a good career as a financial advisor. I’ll never do that again,” he told Judge Joe Burrowes. “The trajectory of my life is altered and justifiably so.”
Cook pleaded guilty in Benton County Superior Court to third-degree theft, a gross misdemeanor. The crime carried up to a year in prison.
Instead, the prosecutors and defense attorneys asked for the sentence to be suspended for two years. In exchange, Cook paid back the money he stole and agreed he would not control money in any other charitable organization for that two years.
Deputy Prosecutor Tyler Grandgeorge said there needed to be a balance between holding the person accountable and not increasing the suffering for the victim club.
The agreement allowed the Richland Rotary to continue its mission with little interruption.
“The money will be back with the Richland Rotary. That money can go back to serve those good purposes,” Grandgeorge said. “From the state’s perspective, dragging this out has layered negative consequences.”
The deputy prosecutor promised that if Cook violated the terms of the sentence, he would seek to have him booked into jail.
Cook’s attorney Jeffrey Kradel said his client needed to reinvent himself after the collapse of his financial advisor business. Cook is now working at a staffing agency.
“He loved being a Rotarian. He loved the mission,” Kradel said, pointing out that no matter what the sentence, Cook will carry the label of being a thief.
Burrowes said he’s always troubled when people in positions of responsibility violate the trust put into them. They should be held to a higher standard, he said. The actions also damage the trust put into those nonprofit organizations, which rely on volunteers.
“It takes so much away from the good that they do, and it’s hard to get that trust back once it’s damaged,” he said.
Cook’s theft also damages the trust members of the nonprofit have in other volunteers. They’ll be left wondering if the new treasurer will steal from them.
He finally decided that the recommendation would be the best resolution, rather than dragging the case to trial.
“I understand that everybody makes mistakes. It’s what you do after the mistake that is a true test of your integrity,” Burrowes said.
Richland Rotary Foundation theft
Detectives started looking into the former foundation treasurer after Cook confessed in February to using a debit card to withdraw nearly $40,000 from the foundation’s account starting in June 2024.
The outgoing Richland Rotary Club president explained to police that they were changing leaders at the club and updating their bookkeeping when Cook admitted to a new board member that he’d been taking money.
The 50-member Richland Rotary Club brings together business owners and others for community service projects, according to the club’s website. It’s unclear the size of the group’s budget.
In 2024, the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions investigated Cook and his former company Columbia Square Wealth Management after some money was missing from a nonprofit.
It’s not clear if there is a connection to the current charges because the consent order does not name the foundation. The order says he joined the nonprofit in 2022 and was elected treasurer.
Cook had been a registered investment adviser under the state’s Securities Division since 2020, said the document.
The state investigation concluded he made false or misleading statements in documents and “engaged in one or more dishonest or unethical practices” in the securities business, including placing an order to buy or sell securities for a client without obtaining the proper written authorization, said the document.
Cook didn’t admit to any wrongdoing, but agreed that his registration with the agency would be revoked and that he could not register again for 10 years.
The order says he allegedly opened an investment account for the foundation through his wealth management company in 2023.
During the course of several months, he allegedly transferred more than $50,000 out of the foundation account and then into his personal account. The department said that Cook didn’t tell the nonprofit about the transfers.
Cook told state investigators that the money was for payments, but the foundation president denied that the organization authorized those payments.
The foundation board later approved a $60,000 loan that retroactively authorized Cook’s withdrawals.
The state also said he did not make full financial disclosures related to his company’s financial status.
In his federal reports, the company claimed to have $3 million in assets. He later said that was based on a potential client that didn’t happen.
His April 2023 filing with the state said the firm had a net worth of $3,300 at the end of 2022. But bank records show he had two bank accounts that both had a negative balance at the time.