Adelante Inc.
Outcome
Sabina Serratos, former executive director of Adelante Inc. (a federally funded Hispanic community services nonprofit), was sentenced to two years in federal prison and ordered to pay $534,539.98 in restitution after pleading guilty to two counts of program fraud for embezzling approximately $391,000 in federal funds to gamble at a local casino.
Details
Adelante Inc. — Executive Director Federal Fund Embezzlement (2019–2021)
Outcome: Sabina Serratos, former executive director of Adelante Inc. (a federally funded Hispanic community services nonprofit), was sentenced to two years in federal prison and ordered to pay $534,539.98 in restitution after pleading guilty to two counts of program fraud for embezzling approximately $391,000 in federal funds to gamble at a local casino.
Sabina Serratos, 55, served as executive director of Adelante Inc., a nonprofit agency in Toledo, Ohio, that provided resources and assistance to the Hispanic community. The organization received more than $10,000 annually in federal support.
Between July 2019 and June 2021, Serratos made unauthorized cash withdrawals totaling $391,473.11 at Hollywood Casino Toledo using funds from the nonprofit. She pleaded guilty in March 2025 to two counts of program fraud and was sentenced on July 28, 2025, to two years in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and $534,539.98 in restitution. Adelante closed its doors in 2022 after the embezzlement was discovered, eliminating critical services for the Toledo Hispanic community.
Primary Source: DOJ: Former Nonprofit Executive Director Sentenced to Prison for Misuse of Program Funds
How Crucible Prevents This
Serratos made unauthorized cash withdrawals totaling $391,473 at a casino using federal program funds over a two-year period. Crucible's cash withdrawal monitoring hooks would flag any pattern of large cash withdrawals from accounts holding federal funds, and automated bank feed reconciliation would detect unauthorized withdrawals within the first reporting cycle. The organization subsequently closed after the embezzlement was discovered.
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