Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. (ΚΑΨ) is a historically African American fraternity.

By  Gary Raynaldo   DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

An ex-financial executive of the national Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity on Tuesday was sentenced to two years and six months in prison for embezzling nearly $3 million from his former employer.  Curtis Anderson, 60, of Claymont, DE stole the millions from the African American fraternity to feed an insatiable gambling addiction, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.  Anderson was employed for more than two decades as the finance director for Kappa Alpha Psi,  a 110-year-old fraternity,  which has its international headquarters in Philadelphia.  In November 2021, Anderson  plead guilty in the Pennsylvania Eastern District Court to four counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft in connection with his embezzlement from KAP.  Anderson was authorized to make deposits into the organization’s bank accounts but was not allowed to sign checks. Beginning as early as 2012, the Anderson wrote numerous large checks to himself without permission using the signature stamps of authorized signatories, and withdrew cash from the fraternity’s bank accounts without permission.  In total, the Anderson embezzled $2.94 million from the fraternity over a six-and-a-half-year period.  Anderson would write checks from the Kappa Alpha Psi check book to himself or to others whose signatures he faked, according to the DOJ.  He would then exchange them for cash at Santander or Wells Fargo banks in Philadelphia.  Anderson was accused of cashing 78 fraudulent checks over from 2012-2019.  According to court records,  Anderson had a gambling problem and lost most of the money at Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino & Racetrack. 

Kappa Fraternity Executive Battling Gambling and Alcohol Addictions When He Stole Millions 

Curtis Anderson, 60, of Claymont, DE, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison and three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay nearly $3 million in restitution by United States District Court Judge Timothy J. Savage (Eastern District of Pennsylvania) on Feb. 22, 2022 for embezzling approximately $2.94 million from his former employer, the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. (Photo Source: Kappa Alpha Psi)

In December 2018, officials at Santander Bank became aware of “suspicious” financial activity in the accounts of Kappa Alpha Psi and notified the fraternity’s executive director and president who attended a meeting at the branch to discuss the situation.  The top KAP officials reportedly saw Anderson leaving the bank and called him on his cell phone and asked him to come back.  When they confronted Anderson with the bank’s suspicions, Anderson  apparently broke down and confessed saying he was battling gambling and alcohol addictions.   Kappa Alpha Psi then fired Anderson. 

“This defendant swindled almost three million dollars from his former employer and covered his tracks well enough that his illegal actions went undetected for many years. Instead of doing the right thing and performing his job honestly for an historic organization that works to benefit and sustain its members, he chose the greedy path. Our Office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect innocent individuals and organizations from being victimized by financial fraud.”