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Convicted former CATS board member appears to be at it again

5 years 11 months 3 weeks ago Monday, December 17 2018 Dec 17, 2018 December 17, 2018 4:31 PM December 17, 2018 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - The convicted former Capital Area Transit System (CATS) board member who used bus system money for his personal cable bill is engaged in more questionable activities.

It appears Montrell McCaleb is now closely tied to a nonprofit that claims to help children. A former employee said multiple workers just quit due to their suspicions of the work they were doing, calling McCaleb a scam artist.

In June 2017, the WBRZ Investigative Unit revealed Montrell McCaleb was using several aliases to start nonprofits and get donations under the guise of helping kids.

"He doesn't care about the kids," Norelle Feinhour told WBRZ last year.

During that time we had an opportunity to ask McCaleb about what he was doing.

"I have no comment on the nonprofits I'm setting up," McCaleb said.

This month, McCaleb appears to be at it again. He's been seen working in a building off Sherwood Forest Boulevard with the name OYOF Ministries.

Tammy Morgan said she was hired in November and immediately realized what was going on was a scam.

"I asked for a board of directors list and major funders, and I was never given that," Morgan said. "I was never given an overview of what the program was."

Morgan said she was in charge of fundraising and trying to bring money into the program. When she began getting suspicious, she quit.

"He's telling people he fired all of his staff when we mass quit," Morgan said.

Morgan said that happened after the employees searched McCaleb's name online. They found it was the same person featured in a WBRZ report in 2017. McCaleb was also the same person who pleaded guilty to felony theft charges for stealing CATS money. When confronted about the money, he lied on camera.

"I was accused of stealing money from CATS, I didn't take any money from CATS," McCaleb said.

Monday, when McCaleb was confronted at the OYOF Ministries' office, he wouldn't talk to WBRZ Chief Investigative Reporter Chris Nakamoto. 

"Really Chris," McCaleb said through a closed glass door. "No sir, I'm not going to talk to you."

Morgan said after seeing the way things are being run, she doesn't want anyone else to send donations to Montrell McCaleb. She said she's witnessed him spend the money on himself and not the children he claims to help.

"Stop. Just stop it," Morgan said. "You're lying, everyone knows you're a liar, and you need to stop with the lies."

OYOF was recognized as a nonprofit this year. Next year, the organization will be required to fill out paperwork with the IRS. The organization has not filed up-to-date paperwork with the Secretary of State. Morgan said she contacted the Attorney General's Consumer Division and filed a complaint in hopes of getting McCaleb shut down for good.

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