A former Minnesota professor who raised funds in the name of Philando Castile has been ordered to repay the funds she misappropriated.
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Former Metropolitan State University psychology professor Pamela Fergus has agreed to a settlement where she can pay back the $120,000 she used from the “Philando Feeds The Children” fundraiser. The office of Minnesota’s attorney general, Keith Ellison, announced last week that Fergus is banned from raising and handling charitable funds in the state.
Back in 2017, Fergus launched the fundraiser a year after Castile was killed at a traffic stop by a police officer. According to Yahoo! News, he worked as a nutrition supervisor at the J.J. Hill Montessori School and paid for lunches for students in need. The funds from Fergus’ fundraiser were supposed to be used to help pay for student lunches but the state claims it didn’t happen.
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Ellison’s office said in a statement that the funds received from the settlement will be distributed through “Saint Paul Public Schools for the restricted purpose of paying off lunch debts of children in need — the purpose for which Minnesotans donated the funds in the first place.”
Fergus was sued by the Charities Division of the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office in June 2021 for failing to properly use the money to support the students. Originally, her goal was to raise $5,000 on YouCaring.org and claimed the funds will help the students that were helped by Castile.
The investigation was launched after Castile’s mother, Valerie Castile, expressed concerns regarding how the money was being used and contacted Ellison’s office.