St. Louis-area nonprofit founder indicted on wire fraud, accused of stealing more than $2 million

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - The founder and owner of a St. Louis area non-profit, intended to feed low-income families, has been federally indicted on four charges of wire fraud for defrauding the State of Missouri out of more than $2 million.

Cymone McClellan, 31, according to the indictment, operated Sister of Lavender Rose (SOLR) and filed fake reimbursement claims to the Food and Nutrition Programs for Children which is overseen by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).

Federal documents reveal McClellan claimed to have served 860,876 meals to children in the area, but “she only purchased enough food and milk to serve fewer than a quarter of those meals.”

Prosecutors detail in the documents that McClellan used the address of Elmo’s Love Lounge, an adult-only nightclub in University City, as a listed address to prepare the food she claimed she was giving the children.

McClellan used $60,000 from SOLR’s bank for a down payment on a home in Collinsville, Ill. and an additional tens of thousands of dollars for a Florissant home along with a handful of vehicles, including some high-end cars such as a Mercedes-Benz and a Lexus.

First Alert 4 uncovered McClellan used and listed several addresses under her name including two in Florissant.

First Alert 4 went to one of the homes and a woman answered the door claiming not to know who McClellan was.

“We get mail to this address, but she doesn’t live here,” the woman said.

As of Thursday evening, McClellan has not been arrested, but a warrant was been issued for her arrest.

If convicted, McClellan faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count.

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