Man embezzled almost $240G from charity to fuel gambling addiction

CONCORD - A former Grantham man and current resident of Holly Springs, N.C., was sentenced Wednesday in Concord for embezzling almost $240,000 from LISTEN Community Services, an Upper Valley charity that offers multiple services for vulnerable individuals.

Kyle Fisher, 43, was sentenced to 21 months in prison and three years of supervised release. The defendant was also ordered to pay $239,297.09 in restitution.

Fisher pleaded guilty in February to one count of wire fraud.

"The defendant stole almost a quarter million dollars from a charity that provides services for vulnerable people," said U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young. "Every dollar the defendant stole was a dollar denied to those in need of food, shelter, or education. The defendant's gambling away the money he so brazenly stole at a casino only compounded his reprehensible conduct. I hope today's sentence helps LISTEN and the community it serves begin the first step in their healing process."

Fisher was the executive director of LISTEN from around August 2016-October 2022. As executive director, Fisher had full access to LISTEN's finances, including its bank account and PayPal account, which it used to collect donations. Fisher made unauthorized transfers from LISTEN's bank accounts and PayPal to accounts he controlled. He also wrote eight unauthorized checks payable to himself, according to statement from the U.S. Attorneys Office released on Wednesday. Fisher then spent the stolen funds on personal expenses, primarily gambling at a casino in Springfield, Mass.

For example, on Jan. 24, 2022, Fisher withdrew $4,787 from LISTEN's PayPal account and transferred the funds to his personal bank account. Later that same day, Fisher made multiple withdrawals from his bank account, including at ATMs at the casino. He then deposited a substantial amount of cash into his personal casino account that day. The casino records showed that Fisher continuously gambled on Jan. 24, 2022, and Jan. 25, 2022, and lost a combined $6,719 over those two days.

Fisher also took steps to conceal his embezzlement from LISTEN. For example, he created a fake PayPal statement that showed over $94,000 in payments to Dell. Fisher also provided fraudulent invoices to LISTEN.

"Kyle Fisher not only cheated the charity he worked for by stealing almost a quarter-million dollars, but he also tried to conceal his criminal cash flow before gambling it away. There's no question what Mr. Fisher did deprived our neighbors in the Upper Valley of much needed assistance with food, housing, heating, and education," said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. "Embezzlement schemes like this can be simply devastating for the victims which is why the FBI is committed to bringing financial fraud to light and perpetrators like Mr. Fisher to justice."

The FBI led the investigation.