Nonprofit: ‘Betrayal’ after former head accused of funneling money from Vegas foundation
A spokesperson for a Las Vegas-based nonprofit that aims to teach kids about the law said the organization feels a “sense of betrayal” after its former executive director now faces theft charges amid allegations that he diverted money from a police foundation that he also oversaw.
In a news release Friday, Mike Kamer, the current executive director of Project REAL, alleged that the organization is a victim of its former executive director, Thomas Kovach, who was also the previous executive director of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Foundation.
Earlier this week, police accused Kovach of funneling almost $350,000 from the Foundation to Project REAL, then paying himself $182,000. Kamer said Kovach worked for Project REAL from December 2015 until July 2023, when he stepped down. Police said that between April 2018 and November 2022, Kovach diverted payments without the foundation’s permission, often hiding and miscoding payments in their accounting system.
Kovach faces 19 theft charges.
The police foundation funds officer training, equipment and technology efforts, while Project REAL is a Nevada-based youth outreach program.
“We are devastated to know that when Project REAL comes up in conversation this week, it will be about decisions Kovach made — and not the work we do,” the statement alleged in part. “Kovach is not Project REAL. Project REAL is the 18,000 students we served in the 2023-2024 school year … Project REAL is the countless judges, lawyers, business owners and community members who support us.”
Dominic Gentile, Kovach’s lawyer, told the Review-Journal that he does not contest that money was paid from the foundation to Project REAL and that part of the money was transferred to Kovach. He said his client earned the money paid to him and that the transactions were “100 percent legal.”
According to court documents, around the time of the alleged theft, Kamer told police that he used personal savings to keep Project REAL afloat because he believed it was close to success. He also said he did not want other staff members to know about the organization’s finances, citing that they would look for employment elsewhere if they sensed troubles.
Additionally, police said that Kamer reported frustrating interactions with Kovach when he mentioned the organization’s shortfalls. During an interview with Metro investigators, Kamer noted that Project REAL was $115,000 in debt.
In an interview with the Review-Journal, Kamer said that board meeting minutes mark Kovach’s departure from Project REAL as a resignation, though no reason was given for his departure.