Chicanos Por La Causa President and CEO David Adame has resigned, shaking the nonprofit to its core. Alicia Nuñez, the organization’s chief financial officer, has been tapped to replace Adame.
While the organization released a statement claiming that Adame left to “pursue other opportunities,” sources say allegations of financial malfeasance preceded his exit.
The embattled organization was one of the most powerful and well-known quasi-political Latino advocacy groups prior to allegations of fraud.
In December 2022, then Arizona Governor-elect Katie Hobbs became the subject of controversy when she named Adame to her transition team, in spite of both Adame and Chicanos Por La Causa’ being under investigation for pandemic loan fraud.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) is investigating CPLC for fraudulent pandemic loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The Democrat-led Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis issued a report at the beginning of this month revealing that CPLC’s nonprofit lending subsidiary, Prestamos, received approximately $7.7 billion in loans. That made Prestamos the third-ranked lender for PPP last year, after JP Morgan Chase Bank and Bank of America,” according to AZFREE News.
“As of late December 2019, Prestamos had provided ‘more than $50 million in loans supporting more than 400 businesses’ since its formal inception in 2000,” the subcommittee report read. “In other words, in the two decades prior to the pandemic, Prestamos likely issued less than one percent of the funds that it issued in 2021 as part of the PPP.”
The subcommittee recommended the Department of Justice (DOJ) to act on their findings, reported AZFREE News.
Delma Herrera, Chair of Chicanos Por La Causa’s Board of Directors, released the following statement:
“Chicanos Por La Causa President & CEO David Adame has resigned to pursue other opportunities. The Board of Directors is grateful for Mr. Adame’s leadership and many contributions to CPLC as CEO and other leadership positions over the last 15 years. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors.
The Board of Directors will work to ensure a smooth transition. We remain committed to CPLC’s vision of empowering lives in underserved communities across the country through its education, housing, health, economic development, and advocacy efforts.
Our executive search will begin over the next few days. In the interim, Alicia Nuñez will assume the responsibilities of acting President and CEO for the organization. We have full confidence that she will help lead CPLC into a new chapter of success.”