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APRIL 3, 2026
In early 2025, Caminar launched a comprehensive investigation into what appeared to be a misappropriation of funds by a senior member of our team.
Now, we are openly sharing with our community what we know about what happened and how Caminar responded.
We are doing this because we believe that strong relationships are only built on a foundation of openness and trust. It is, very simply, who we are.
Here is what we can now share:
In the spring of 2025, Caminar began an internal investigation after our financial systems flagged a suspicious invoice for consulting services that was submitted to us for payment. Further examination by Caminar linked the invoice to other suspicious invoices and payments to what appeared to be a fictitious entity. Additional analysis verified that the fictitious entity was directly associated with our then chief financial officer, Richard Williams, whom it appeared fabricated the entity, vendor contact and a contract to support the invoices to Caminar.
Sadly, this thorough process, which ultimately involved multiple independent experts in addition to Caminar, determined that Mr. Williams had misappropriated funds totaling $99,375 for his own benefit. Mr. Williams resigned from Caminar in September 2025, while the investigation was still under way.
To Caminar, every dollar entrusted to us by our partners and donors to fuel our vital work is sacred. Protecting those resources and using them as efficiently and effectively as we can to care for those we serve is a responsibility we take very seriously.
While not a trivial figure, the amount involved has no impact whatsoever on Caminar’s programs, operations, access to our services or future plans.
We reported the matter to law enforcement. Their investigation is ongoing and we are grateful for their work and due diligence. Additionally, we are pursuing efforts to recover the misappropriated funds from our former employee.
Caminar leadership continues to regularly review and update our financial systems and controls in collaboration with our board to keep up with the latest best practices. We have also established a new Compliance Committee and rolled out a new ethics and compliance hotline for our staff to report suspected misconduct, workplace issues, misuse of resources and other concerns—anonymously if they prefer—through a third-party organization. We’re taking other internal measures, too; best practices dictate that we don’t identify or discuss those publicly.
“To say it is deeply troubling that anyone associated with Caminar would cause us harm is an understatement,” Caminar CEO Mark Cloutier said. “It is an affront to everything we stand for as an organization. It also violates the fundamental principles of integrity, accountability and transparency that guide our daily work in the community, and that served as our North Star in navigating every step of this disturbing episode.”
We are thankful to our funding agencies, donors, partners and supporters for their understanding, support and encouragement as we continue to share this news with them, and to the 358 members of Team Caminar for their unwavering focus on delivering care with compassion and dignity to the more than 48,000 individuals—a record number—we served over the last year.
