From the Denver Post

The director of a Denver parolee shelter is under investigation by the local district attorney following complaints he misrepresented the shelter's tax status, misused another charity's tax exemption and had improper relationships with parolees, the Denver Post reports.

Bob Sylvester, the head of Dismas House, also is being sued by a former board member over an $11,000 loan allegedly obtained by misrepresenting the nonprofit's tax status. The Colorado Department of Corrections closed the shelter Aug. 14 because of the allegations of inappropriate relations with parolees.

Sylvester set up the shelter in 1993 after serving time for check fraud. The nonprofit did not have 501(c)(3) status - which exempts charitable groups from paying sales tax and allows tax write-offs for donors - until August of this year.

It is alleged Sylvester used the tax ID number of the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Denver in order to obtain donations and loans, the paper reports. The head of the Denver Catholic Charities has gone on record as saying Sylvester used the group's exempt status without permission. The group severed ties with Dismas House in 1994.

An attorney for the shelter has denied the fraud claims against Sylvester and states he believes the IRS exemption to be retroactive to 1993, the paper reports.

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