EVANSVILLE, Ind. — An ex-ECHO director used the nonprofit’s money on more than just personal property taxes, a city official says.

ECHO Housing Corp. attorney Scott Wylie could not comment on the matter. ECHO announced last week Stephanie TenBarge left the nonprofit. The next day, the Courier & Press discovered TenBarge used ECHO funds to pay her personal property taxes.

Kelley Coures, director of the city’s Department of Metropolitan Development, spoke to City Council this week about the situation with ECHO at the request of City Councilman John Hayden, R-3rd Ward.

“Property taxes wasn’t all that was involved, but again I don’t have any evidence I can give you so I can’t make a statement of what was done,” Coures said.

The C&P’s attempts to contact TenBarge were unsuccessful.

TenBarge used the nonprofit’s money against organizational policy to pay the property taxes on her personal property at least three times since November 2016.

ECHO Housing Corp. hired a forensic accountant to review the nonprofit’s financial records for the last several years in response to TenBarge’s alleged use of nonprofit money for personal expenses. Wylie didn’t know the extent of the audit.

Coures told City Council his office won’t receive the results of the audit unless it impacts federal money that passes through the city to ECHO or money the city provides to ECHO for other services and costs.

“I won’t get that report unless it impacts our money, and I just don’t think it will,” he said.

Coures said his office contacted the Department of Housing and Urban Development as soon as they learned about the financial issues involving TenBarge. His office has worked with interim director Chris Metz in the last two weeks, he said.

Coures’ office conducted an audit in 2017 of the money ECHO received from the federal government through the city in 2016. He said his office hasn’t received claims for 2017 yet.