Metro East pair arrested for stealing more than $7M from food programs for low-income kids

ST. LOUIS — The Metro East couple behind a St. Louis-area nonprofit were arrested Tuesday for allegedly stealing more than $7 million that was meant to feed low-income children.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, Diarra Williams, 30, and Nicholas Warford, 31, of Edwardsville, were indicted last month on multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and obstruction of an official proceeding.

The indictment alleges Williams and Warford defrauded Missouri’s At-Risk Afterschool Program and Summer Food Service Program, which are both funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Bailey Foundation, ran by Williams, fraudulently claimed it served more than 2.2 million meals between March 2020 and July 2022. Williams and Wardord then laundered the meal money through Warford’s Classic Catering LLC by creating fake invoices that showed meal purchases that were never made.

According to the Bailey Foundation’s website, the nonprofit aims to “provide children and their families with educational programs, food and nutrition support, and leadership initiatives to ensure they have a strong healthy community to thrive in.”

One invoice from April 2021 claimed 208,456 meals, each with an 8-ounce serving of milk, were served, but Warford’s company bought no milk and paid less than $5,000 for food, the indictment says.

With the money intended to feed kids, the couple bought a $1.4 million home in Edwardsville and multiple vehicles, including a 2018 Lincoln Navigator, a 2019 Ram 1500 Rebel pickup, a 2011 Mercedes Benz Sprinter, a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica and two 2021 Ram Promaster vans, the indictment says. They also spent $140,000 on extravagant vacations; $100,000 on furniture, home electronics and landscaping for their new home; more than $50,000 in school tuition payments and $460,000 went to Warford’s mother.

FBI special agents seized the vehicles on Tuesday when the couple was arrested. The indictment also seeks the forfeiture of the couple’s home.

“The alleged fraud is beyond despicable,” Acting Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker of the FBI St. Louis Division said in a statement. “The defendants allegedly stole millions in taxpayer dollars meant to feed low-income children in Missouri for their own use.”

The indictment also says the couple also falsely claimed in reports to the state that they had spent the money on feeding children, told the Internal Revenue Service that the spending was for legitimate business expenses of the catering company and tried to impede the investigation by producing fake invoices in response to a federal grand jury subpoena.

“The defendants are accused of stealing money meant to feed low-income school-aged children and using the funds to live a lavish lifestyle. It’s hard to put into words how egregious these accusations are,” IRS-Criminal Investigation St. Louis Special Agent in Charge William Steenson said in a statement. “But this arrest means their actions have been disrupted and they can now be held accountable.”