PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Following a leadership shakeup at a Multnomah County housing authority, its former top executive is under investigation.
On Aug. 14, the Oregon Ethics Commission unanimously voted to launch a probe into Ivory Mathews. A complaint filed with the agency has accused the ex-Home Forward CEO of using her title for financial benefits that wouldn’t be available if she weren’t the leader, according to OGEC Investigator Silas Patterson.
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“This includes, but is not limited to purchasing extra days of lodging for what appears to be non-business purposes, room and airfare upgrades, lodging that exceeded [the set] rates, rental cars, and attaching her personal travel rewards accounts to agency funded lodging,” Patterson said as part of a preliminary review. “Additionally, it appears that Miss Mathews was faced with a conflict of interest each time she made a purchase or sought reimbursements for travel expenses that were inconsistent or in violation of Home Forward’s travel policies.”
He added the organization’s policy requires expenses to be authorized, meaning that it would be a conflict of interest if Mathews authorized her own purchases. Preliminary findings show she did not comply with the state’s conflict-of-interest disclosure requirements, according to Patterson.
Mathews had served as Home Forward’s CEO for more than four years before the housing authority announced her departure in April. Just weeks prior, Willamette Week reported that she spent more than $100,000 in taxpayer funds on travel…