Cameron Community Ministries has removed executive director Olivia Kassoum-Amadou from its board.
The move comes in the wake of a Monroe County Office of Public Integrity audit, which found Kassoum-Amadou allegedly defrauded the county of federal COVID relief dollars. The report claimed she contracted with an agency partly owned by her husband, and offered classes that were largely attended by her children and family members living out of state.
The county reported those findings to the New York State Attorney General’s Office. County Executive Adam Bello described Cameron as the most egregious of offenders found in the audit.
In a statement, the organization said Kassoum-Amadou was placed on leave Saturday, and removed from the board Thursday. The board has appointed Jonathan Hardin as her temporary replacement. Hardin formerly served as Cameron’s director of community engagement.
“The Lyell-Otis Neighborhood continues to be served by our kids programs, meal programs, street outreach, barber apprentice program, social worker, and all the other ways that we respond to the needs of the community,” said Sandra Hasenauer, chairperson of the board of directors. “Cameron Community has had a stellar reputation for over 40 years, and the board is taking proactive steps to ensure this legacy continues.”
The organization has ended the logistics training program, one of the two classes dinged in the OPI report.
On Tuesday, the Rochester City Council also voted to suspend Cameron from the city’s neighborhood ambassador program. Mayor Malik Evans said that contract could be revisited in the future.
