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Photo: Getty Images
The Oregon Department of Justice (ODOJ) announced today that a Lincoln County grand jury has indicted Marcus Brooks, founder and executive director of the Cascade Relief Team, on two counts of Aggravated Theft in the First Degree. Brooks is accused of stealing charity money meant to help tornado victims rebuild.
The indictment follows a civil lawsuit the State of Oregon filed against Brooks in April, alleging he stole nearly $837,000 in charitable funds meant for fire, flood, and tornado victims in Oregon and Kentucky. That lawsuit paints a broader picture of the alleged scheme: lawyers for the state say Brooks ran donated and government grant money through 26 different bank accounts, and spent it on casino trips, strip clubs, a Disneyland vacation, vehicles, and personal bills – all while wildfire and flood survivors in Oregon waited for help that never came. The civil case remains pending.
“This man preyed on people at the worst moment of their lives,” said Attorney General Dan Rayfield. “He wore the badge of a disaster relief leader while gambling away the money meant to rebuild people’s homes and give them a new start. That’s a debt he’ll have to pay back in more ways than one.”
The indictment centers on a $326,000 grant from the American Red Cross, intended to help build tornado shelters for survivors in Kentucky. Brooks used a substantial portion of the funds to settle past debts connected to his company, effectively using the new grant money to shore up pre‑existing financial liabilities. The rest, investigators say, went to personal use: vehicle payments, entertainment, cash withdrawals from ATMs (many at casinos), payments to himself, travel and hotel stays unrelated to the Kentucky project, and bank fees from his consistent overdrafts.
As with all criminal proceedings, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Source: Oregon Department of Justice