The Attorney General’s Office announced Wednesday that no criminal activity was found during its investigation of the non-profit addiction recovery organization HOPE for New Hampshire Recovery.
The investigation was sparked by complaints by former HOPE Employees.
The employees claimed the organization, which offers recovery support services for those battling a drug addiction, mismanaged funds and that high-up employees engaged in verbal abuse.
The state’s top lawyer on the case, Ann Rice, says her office is neither verifying nor refuting any of the allegations but that state investigators haven’t found anything criminal.
A spokesman for HOPE for New Hampshire, Joseph Graham, says he’s not surprised.
“We are glad to see that the Attorney General’s Office agrees with us and we are going to continue to build a world-class organization to support people in recovery,” Graham said.
Although, the criminal investigation is over, the New Hampshire Justice Department's Charitable Trust Unit will reach out to HOPE to offer "assistance and guidance with respect to the organization’s governance."
The state’s licensing board is also conducting its own investigation, involving allegations of falsified documents.
Last week state Commissioner of Health and Human Services Jeff Meyers put a hold on any future state funding for HOPE given the investigation. Meyers says that hold is still in place as the organization has not met all of the requirements in its present state contract of nearly half a million dollars.
But Meyers says the Department is working with HOPE and planning to bring up the issue of state funding at the next Executive Council meeting in July.
