Latest news with #SaintFrancis
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Accused fraudster of Kansas DCF contractor renounces claim to seized bank funds
The federal government is a step closer to getting about $700,000 seized from bank accounts tied to one of the former executives accused of defrauding a Kansas foster care contractor out of more than $10 million. William Byrd Whymark and Robert Nelson Smith are accused of conspiring to defraud Saint Francis Ministries of more than $10 million. Both defendants have indicated they will change their not guilty pleas. Smith was the president and CEO of the Salina-based Saint Francis, a faith-based nonprofit that contracts with the Kansas Department for Children and Families. He was also an ordained priest with the Episcopal Church. Whymark was the chief information officer. Smith and Whymark were indicted in U.S. District Court in Topeka in November 2022 on 20 total charges of money laundering, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The Federal Bureau of Investigation detailed the case in a civil asset forfeiture case filed in August 2022. Former Saint Francis leader renounces claim to bank accounts In the civil asset forfeiture case, the federal government is seeking about $703,000 in three seized bank accounts connected to Whymark. The civil case was filed before the criminal case, but it had been paused since May 2023. The stay was due to "concerns" about discovery and the Fifth Amendment, according to a filing by assistant U.S. attorney Scott Anderson. In that March 26 federal court filing requesting the stay remain in place, the U.S. Attorney's Office said "plea negotiations are ongoing, but they have not reached an agreement yet." The stay was lifted on July 21 by Magistrate Judge Gwynne Birzer. That came after Whymark, Jessica Whymark and WMK Technology Corp. on June 6 withdrew their claims and disclaimed any interest in the contents of the bank accounts. Then the U.S. Attorney's Office on July 18 requested the stay be lifted. More: DCF contractor Saint Francis Ministries defrauded of $10.7 million by former IT chief, feds allege Defendants are scheduled to change pleas In the criminal case, both Whymark and Smith pleaded not guilty. Now, that may be changing. Whymark on April 30 notified the court that he intends to change his plea, which was followed by Smith's notice on May 27. The change of plea hearing is scheduled for Sept. 3 in Topeka with District Judge Toby Crouse. If convicted, they could face decades in prison and millions of dollars in fines. More: Former leaders of DCF contractor Saint Francis charged with fraud, money laundering Indictment details alleged scheme to defraud Saint Francis Ministries The grand jury indictment alleged that Whymark and Smith "conspired and engage in a scheme to defraud Saint Francis Ministries." Whymark allegedly swindled Saint Francis out of more than $10 million through submitting and approving false invoices. A July 2022 affidavit by special agent Kevin Mills, a financial and white collar crime investigator with the FBI's Topeka office, said the fraud totaled about $10.7 million. Despite his $164,000 salary as the organization's top IT officer, Whymark outsourced work to his New York-based company, WMK Research, then further outsourced it to subcontractors in India, QubeRoot Analytics and Pinnacle Seven Technologies. He then submitted fraudulent invoices with inflated costs for the work performed by the subcontractors he wasn't supposed to use, the indictment alleged. "Whymark used the fraudulently obtained funds from SFM toward the purchase of an approximate four-million-dollar home in Armonk, New York, luxury vehicles, jewelry, and cash withdrawals," the indictment alleged. Meanwhile, Smith allegedly received a $50,000 kickback for approving the high-dollar invoices and also improperly used Saint Francis credit cards for personal expenses. That included "cash withdrawals, clothing and jewelry purchases, and expenses associated with travel for Smith and his family members." Jason Alatidd is a Statehouse reporter for The Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@ Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd. This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas federal court has update on Saint Francis Ministries fraud case Solve the daily Crossword
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Poor Clare review – sassy spin on a medieval saint asks pithy questions
Chiara Atik's play about Saint Clare of Assisi and her friendship with the often more celebrated Saint Francis takes its lead from the Netflix school of sassy history. The cast have American accents and could be high-schoolers clicking their fingers, despite the period dress. The drama archly positions club-land beats and contemporary phraseology ('cool', 'totally' 'my social anxiety …') alongside choral sounds and medieval monasticism. It is light on historical detail, heavy on humour and attitude. So it makes sense to cast two Netflix stars in this very modern spin on the Italian saints: Clare is played by Arsema Thomas, known for her TV role in Queen Charlotte (the Bridgerton spin-off) while Shadow and Bone actor, Freddy Carter, is the priggishly earnest Francis. Atik's play, which won multiple awards in America, dramatises the conversion of Clare, an Italian noblewoman inspired by her friendship with Francis of Assisi to found an order following a rule of strict poverty. Here she is as kick-ass as they come, with an immaculate stage debut from Thomas, who plays the part straight up and sharp, despite the eyebrow-raised wit of the enterprise. But beneath the surface glibness there is lean, clever writing with short, sharp scenes and clean direction by Blanche McIntyre as the play travels towards its serious preoccupations with wealth, poverty and inequality. Clare, with her order of Poor Ladies, was anything but poor at the outset. She renounced all her wealth after meeting Francis and embraced radical poverty (her order, until recently, were still instructed to walk barefoot). Francis, meanwhile, is mocked, gently, as a young man rebelling against his silk merchant father. He slowly becomes more moderate, it seems, and Clare all the more radical. The unfussy, single statement set (a bed, a chair, a bare tiled floor) is designed by Eleanor Bull, who also dreams up some gorgeously regal period costumes. It is suffused in warm, pointed light by Oliver Fenwick. There are some great scenes of bristling sisterhood between Clare and younger sis, Beatrice (Anushka Chakravarti, cutely brattish), as well as gossiping sessions between Clare and her two lady's maids (Liz Kettle and Jacoba Williams). 'Can you spare any change, please?' says a beggar who Clare and Beatrice mistake for a heap of rubbish. This hammers home the fact that this is both about 13th-century poverty and our own. But there is potency in the heavy-handedness: the play is not trying to hide the fact that inequality then is recognisable, and unchanged, today. There are intelligent conversations about it that resonates loudly for today – Francis speaks of how the rich must necessarily turn a blind eye to poverty because it implicates them, by its existence. The ending speaks of the modern world and all the ways in which the gulf between rich and poor is shored up. It should jar but instead leaves you prickled, roused, impressed by the singularity of Clare's resolve – and awkwardly implicated yourself. At Orange Tree theatre, London, until 9 August
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
SFU's McConnell excited for family's success
LORETTO, PA (WTAJ) — Saint Francis basketball coach Luke McConnell laughs thinking about the message he sent his cousin T.J. after the Indiana Pacers won the Eastern Conference Finals. 'I literally think my text was, 'Dude, you're in the NBA Finals' and he's like, 'I know, right?' Like crazy.,' he recalls. Luke is in his first season as head coach at his alma mater, Saint Francis University. His cousin T.J. has played in the NBA for a decade and Thursday made his NBA Finals debut. It's a moment the two used to practice as kids. 'We would cut our dad's dress socks and wear the sleeve like Allen Iverson. Just kids who loved watching basketball loved the NBA,' he said. 'Playing ten, nine, eight where, you know, there's 10 seconds left in game seven… So to go from that to see what he's been able to accomplish is, is really fun.' Luke grew up in Blair County, T.J. in Pittsburgh. The sons of basketball coaches they spent a lot of their summers going back and forth from camp to camp, learning basketball together. 'Our dads each had basketball camps, so we would each go back and forth to our dad's basketball camps, you know, going to Pittsburgh, coming back to Hollidaysburg, playing in the driveway to see where he's come from. That it's surreal in a way,' said Luke. Since the driveway, T.J. has balled at Arizona, then with the Sixers and in 2019 he joined the Pacers where he's been a steady presence off the bench and leader in the locker room. 'I want a lot of us to know how hard it is to get here. But the job's not done. You know, we have four more wins, and we've got to focus on that,' said T.J. during the NBA Finals media day. '(It) never ceases to amaze us what he's able to accomplish,' said Luke. 'So for him to reach the finals, literally the biggest stage in basketball is, it's unbelievable to think about, but not surprising at the same time with what he's been able to do.' The McConnells are basketball royalty in Pittsburgh. Luke coaches Saint Francis, the same school his dad coached at. T.J. is with the Pacers, his dad Tim is a WPIAL coaching legend, and his sister Megan just made her WNBA debut. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Texas A&M run rules Red Flash in tournament opener
COLLEGE STATION, TX (WTAJ) — Top seeded Texas A&M proved their ranking Friday in the Aggies' regional opener against Saint Francis, no-hitting the Red Flash in a run-rule victory. It was a dreadful opener for Saint Francis, who rode plenty of momentum into the NCAA Tournament. It's the team's seventh trip to the regionals in eight seasons, but for this young team, the stage and lights shone too brightly. 'That is certainly not something that satisfies them how we played today,' said head coach Beth Krysiak. 'So the talk in the huddle was our season's not done. We had to fight to be in-season as long as humanly possible. And so all we got to do now is show the fight that we've had all season, throughout the chaos we've been put through. And so it's a little more chaos and a little more fight.' Saint Francis struggled for a good chunk of the 2025 campaign, only to catch fire down the stretch, winning 11 of its last 12 games, including the NEC championship, but no team on its schedule compares to the Aggies who shared the SEC title with Oklahoma en route to a 45-9 season. With the win, Texas A&M advances to play Liberty in a regional semifinal Saturday, while Saint Francis will face elimination against Marist. The game is Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
USA Today
17-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Texas A&M softball run-rule Saint Francis 18-0 in Regional blowout on Friday afternoon
Texas A&M softball run-rule Saint Francis 18-0 in Regional blowout on Friday afternoon Texas A&M flexed its offensive and defensive power in Game 2 of the Bryan-College Station Regional, securing a commanding 18-0 victory over the Saint Francis Red Flash on Friday evening. The Aggies' explosive offense showed no signs of slowing down, racking up 18 runs on eight hits in just five innings. A&M capitalized on Saint Francis' struggles, as the Red Flash set a record with 14 walks, keeping the bases loaded all game long. SEC All-Tournament standouts Koko Wooley and Amari Harper led the charge, going a flawless 6-for-6 with nine RBIs, with Harper launching the only home run of the day. On the mound, Sydney Lessentine and Sidne Peters delivered a dominant no-hitter, allowing only one walk while striking out eight batters. This performance was crucial for freshman Lessentine, who gained valuable postseason experience, while Peters' strong return from injury provided a much-needed boost for Texas A&M's pitching rotation. Texas A&M will face Liberty in Game 3 of the Bryan-College Station regional on Saturday at 1:00 pm. CT. The game will be available to watch on ESPN+. Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on X: @whosnextsports1.
