California officials sued the Foodbank of Southern California, alleging that the nonprofit and a dozen of its leaders misused state and federal funds for their own gain, including home renovations, a Tesla and a church billboard.

The Long Beach-based food bank closed last October amid a Department of Social Services investigation into allegations against the nonprofit’s former CEO, Jeanne Cooper.

“The Foodbank of Southern California has fully investigated the allegations involving former CEO, Jeanne Cooper, both through internal and external investigations,” current CEO Brian Weaver, who is also named in the lawsuit, said last October. “When these allegations were first brought to the attention of our board, we took them extremely seriously and immediately conducted an internal investigation, suspending Ms. Cooper pending the outcome.”

The Foodbank of Southern California

The nonprofit, which opened in 1975, served low-income neighborhoods across Los Angeles County. According to the nonprofit’s website, it earned awards for its “sound fiscal management and commitment to accountability and transparency.” However, for at least the last decade, the leaders of the nonprofit have diverted roughly $11 million of state and federal funds, according to the lawsuit.

“Unbeknownst to the Department, for at least the last decade, the Foodbank’s officers, directors, and vendors worked together to divert millions of dollars of state and federal funds away from these most vulnerable communities, into their own pockets,” state attorneys wrote in their complaint against the nonprofit.