BATON ROUGE, La. — Governor Jeff Landry and State Inspector General and Chief Integrity Officer Angele Davis are calling on State Treasurer John Fleming to strengthen oversight of taxpayer-funded nonprofit appropriations following their review that identified opportunities to strengthen payment practices, financial oversight, vendor verification, and performance reporting.
The review examined appropriations authorized under Acts 3 and 961 of the 2026 Regular Session, which provide $113.5 million for 272 nongovernmental organizations. The Louisiana Department of the Treasury administers approximately $107.2 million of that funding. Davis has outlined recommendations to address these vulnerabilities and strengthen protections for taxpayer dollars.
Protecting Louisiana taxpayers from fraud, waste and abuse has been a top priority of Governor Landry’s administration. Through LA DOGE and, building on that foundation, the Louisiana Taxpayer Protection Initiative, the administration is strengthening oversight of government spending, improving accountability, and working to prevent improper payments before taxpayer dollars are disbursed.
“Our great Inspector General Angele Davis found serious oversight failures in $113.5M of taxpayer-funded NGO spending. Her work protects YOUR tax dollars. Fighting waste, fraud, and abuse has been my priority from Day One. Now it is up to Treasurer Fleming,” said Gov. Landry.
The Inspector General’s review identified several cases that illustrate why stronger controls are needed, including the National Association for African American Economic Development, where Treasury advanced $400,000 of an $800,000 appropriation and the Legislative Auditor found that $205,123 moved out of the dedicated account within six months; Treasury’s referral stopped the second $400,000 payment.
In the case of Divine Kingdom Ministries, a cost-report review after Treasury advanced $37,500 against a $75,000 appropriation prompted a referral to the Inspector General. The resulting investigation, conducted with assistance from the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation, led to the director’s arrest on September 22, 2026, on felony theft and false public records charges. The charges remain allegations unless and until proven in court.