October 22, 2025 – Charity boss stole $10 million in taxpayer funds for extravagant lifestyle

In Email/Dossier/Govt Corruption Investigations by Katie Weddington

Connie Bobo (Credit: public domain)

Charity boss allegedly stole $10 million in taxpayer dollars to fund extravagant lifestyle including luxury assets, real estate & romantic lovers.

46-year-old Connie Bobo – the executive director of the New Heights Community Resource Center – is facing allegations of embezzling approximately $10 million from federal programs designed to provide meals for low-income children.

Over her decade-long tenure at the Missouri based organization, Bobo enrolled New Heights in two U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-funded initiatives that reimburse nonprofits for distributing food to children in need.

According to prosecutors, between February 2019 and March 2022, Bobo submitted fraudulent reimbursement claims to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, claiming that the organization served meals to nearly 6 million children.

However, the non-profit only purchased enough food to serve less than three million meals – meaning that she received an overpayment of about $11 million in federal (taxpayer) funds.

The indictment alleges that Bobo then took the overpayment and spent it on luxury assets and real estate including:

👉A $1 million mansion in St. Charles County – plus four other properties in the same county for her relatives

👉$2.2 million in a commercial real estate venture

👉$1.4 million funneled to her romantic partner, Howard Hughes III, who used $212,000 to buy a Mercedes G-Wagon

Prosecutors say that as her scheme unraveled, Bobo tried to hide the theft by forging documents, including listing family members and friends as board members of New Heights.

Dacia Betts, a former friend of Bobo’s, testified during the trial that she didn’t know that she had been named vice president of the nonprofit until contacted by the FBI.

Bobo’s defense attorney argued that Bobo did not intentionally steal the money.

The defense claimed that Bobo made efforts to fix any issues before her arrest and that her actions were driven by a desire to serve the community and contribute positively.

Bobo owned the Infinite Wisdom Early Childhood Center, a daycare facility. After her indictment in October 2023, a court order prohibited her from accessing any personal or financial information related to the daycare.

However, in August 2024, prosecutors discovered that Bobo allegedly remained the leaseholder for the facility and continued to control its financial accounts, violating the court’s order.

That’s when the judge revoked her bond.

When FBI agents arrived to arrest her, Bobo reportedly refused to cooperate, leading to a nearly two-hour standoff. Law enforcement had to break through the front door and arrest her as she was trying to escape.

Bobo faces five federal charges: three counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of obstruction of an official proceeding.

Three weeks before the trial, prosecutors offered her a plea deal, which she rejected.