ST. LOUIS—The owner of a St. Louis nonprofit is accused of fraudulently obtaining more than $2 million in funds intended to help feed students in need.

Cymone McClellan, 31, was indicted in U.S District Court in St. Louis on four felony counts of wire fraud Wednesday. The alleged fraud happened between Jan. 2019 and June 2022.

The court documents state McClellan, who owned and ran a non-profit organization called Sisters of Lavender Rose, submitted reimbursement claims to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services claiming she served 860,876 meals. However, she only bought enough food and milk to serve fewer than 25% of those meals, according to the indictment. 

She is also accused of trying to cover up her crime by providing bogus sign-in sheets to the state, falsely claiming to have taken attendance at certain food distribution locations. 

McClellan also told the state she was preparing food for low-income children at an address that belonged to an adults-only nightclub called Elmo’s Love Lounge, according to the court documents.

The indictment says McClellan spent $60,000 on a down payment for a house in Collinsville, five vehicles and a house in Florissant. The court is asking for her to forfeit the real estate as well as a 2021 Chevrolet Traverse, a 2012 Chevrolet Express G3500 van, a 2020 Mercedez-Benz Metris van, a 2012 Ford E350 box truck and a 2018 Lexus RX SUV.

The charges carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both.