Former executive sues Sunrise Children’s Foundation over firing

The former chief operating officer of the Sunrise Children’s Foundation is suing the charity, alleging she was fired for uncovering shoddy business practices.

The lawsuit filed by Beth Miller in Clark County District Court last week demands more than $50,000 in damages for breach of contract, fraud and misrepresentation, among other accusations.

Miller, who was an executive for the United Way of Southern Nevada, was lured to the foundation by a two-year contract that paid an annual base salary of $130,000, court documents show.

According to the lawsuit, Miller had been assured the charity was in sound financial shape with an expected $8 million budget when she left her job with United Way.

But after joining the charity in January 2011, Miller discovered the foundation was inappropriately using federal funds, according to the lawsuit. In February, Miller learned the foundation overspent $1 million for a federally supported education program and had to return about $253,000 to the government, according to the lawsuit.

Miller also found "that there was commingling of funds, financial misallocation of funds, and overspending estimated by a (foundation) financial consultant to be more than $900,000."

The foundation also failed to meet federal deadlines for filing audits, according to the lawsuit. By March, Miller told the board of directors that she couldn’t raise funds or pursue grants for the foundation until the charity was in compliance with state and federal law. To do so, Miller said, would be illegal.

According to the lawsuit, foundation executive Angela Triche had known about the financial problems since 2010.

In May, the board of directors told Miller that her position was being eliminated "due to the financial situation" at the foundation. She was terminated despite having a two-year contract, according to the lawsuit.

Miller’s duties at the foundation were reassigned to a new executive director, Courtney Orrock, daughter-in-law of board member Kevin Orrock, an executive with the Howard Hughes Corporation, according to the lawsuit.

Neither Courtney Orrock nor Kevin Orrock returned messages Monday.

The attorney for the foundation did not return a call requesting comment on Monday. Miller’s attorney, Ivy Gage, did not return a call requesting comment on Monday.

The Sunrise Children’s Foundation, founded nearly two decades ago, aims to support pediatric health and education throughout Clark County. Programs include the child development program Early Head Start and the program Women, Infants and Children, which provides food to at-risk women and children.

Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@review journal.com or 702-380-1039.