Finance
Undergrad Sues Harvard IRC After Removal Over $170,000 ‘Financial Stress Test’ | News | The Harvard Crimson
Theo J. Harper â25 sued the Harvard International Relations Council after he was temporarily removed from the group in December for redirecting $170,000 to an unofficial bank account over two months as part of a secret financial stress test unbeknownst to the IRCâs top leadership.
Harperâs legal action against the IRC comes after the group hastily voted to temporarily remove him from the organization during a board meeting on Dec. 22, less than one month after he sent an interim report on the stress test to top IRC leadership.
The account of how Harper managed to redirect $170,000 of the IRCâs funds and the decision to suspend him from the group is based on internal documents and interviews with five people who were granted anonymity to speak candidly about private IRC matters.
The exercise, and Harperâs lawsuit over his subsequent temporary ouster, laid bare deep-rooted tensions among the IRCâs board of directors over the organizationâs financial management and complaints about a lack of transparency from top leadership.
âFor Seven Weeks Money Flowed Outâ
In an attempt to internally expose the IRCâs own financial security flaws, on Sept. 29 Harper began quietly redirecting money intended for the groupâs Bank of America deposit account to a Choice Financial Bank account created for the purposes of the financial stress test.
Harper conducted the stress test directly in response to a former president of the Harvard Undergraduate Foreign Policy Initiative transferring approximately $30,000 from the organization to a personal bank account, according to two people with knowledge of the IRCâs governance. (Harper was HUFPIâs senior director of finance from January 2023 to January 2024.)
Harper wrote that the methods used for conducting the stress test âwere legal and within the dutiesâ of his role as a member of an internal strategy committee within the IRC known as the Board of Strategy and Social Impact, according to the interim report authored by Harper about the stress test.
The IRC, however, partially disputed Harperâs account in an emailed statement on Tuesday.
âHis actions were not authorized by the Board of Directors,â the IRC wrote in the statement. âThere was an investigation conducted by a third party.â
Harper declined to comment for this article.
Harper gained access to the chief auditorâs account for the IRCâs online accounting platform and subsequently opened a new account with Choice Financial Bank â which is based in South Dakota â that was officially verified through the IRC auditor account, according to a copy of the report obtained by The Crimson.
The report stated that a financial stress test âto determine potential methods of attack as well as to observe officersâ responses, would be a helpful learning experience to plug holes in our defences and discover unknown risks.â
Between Sept. 29 and Nov. 20, around $170,000 was deposited into the separate bank account created by Harper, after which the funds were transferred back to the official account and full control over the accounts was restored.
It is unclear exactly when the IRC managed to fully restore access to the external account created by Harper.
Yulin Li, an external accountant hired by the IRC, first warned the IRCâs treasurer, Michael G. Baxter â24, and the groupâs chief auditor, Matas Kudarauskas â25, about the breach in financial security on Oct. 20, when he asked for âmore informationâ about a new bank.
Li followed up about the new bank two additional times on Oct. 26 and Oct. 31, before Kudarauskas told Li on Nov. 1 that the IRC had âfound no recordâ of the new account.
The reportâs conclusions offered a fierce indictment of the IRCâs financial officers over their slow response to Liâs increasingly panicked emails and an alleged lack of transparency with the IRCâs board of directors.
âThe lack of urgency displayed by the Treasurer and Chief Auditor was extremely concerning,â the interim report stated. âFor seven weeks money flowed out of the IRC and they did nothing.â
âIt took a month of panicked warnings for our external auditor as well as others to help them make the change,â the report added.
The IRCâs board of directors was only informed about the financial vulnerability following an email from Harper, despite his recommendation in the stress test report that top leadership inform the full board, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
âThe lack of transparency with BoD is extremely concerning,âthe report stated. âBoD needs to be aware of what is happening so it can assist with decision-making and take appropriate action to protect the organisationâs interests.â
âMy Illegal Removalâ
Harper alleged that he suffered emotional damages over his ouster and demanded compensation for being unable to participate in several upcoming Model United Nations conferences, according to a Feb. 10 email obtained by The Crimson.
In the Feb. 10 email, which Harper sent to IRC leadership and Associate Dean for Student Engagement Jason R. Meier, he requested $10,000 for emotional damages stemming from âmy illegal removalâ and an additional $5,500 for denial of involvement in HNMUN and HMUN Africa.
Harper was formerly a senior editor and director of digital media for the Harvard International Review and a committee director for Harvard Model UN and Harvard National Model UN.
Harper alleged that his removal from the IRC was in breach of Massachusetts Law, pointing specifically to Massachusetts General Law Part 1 Title XXII Chapter 180 Section 18. The section states that corporations may not expel their members with less than a majority vote.
The IRC confirmed in a statement that its board voted to temporarily remove Harper as a member.
Harperâs small claims case against the IRC is for $7,000, the maximum amount for Massachusetts small claims.
The case, which was filed in Cambridge District Court on Feb. 19, is set to be heard on April 9.
In the email, Harper also wrote that all of his incurred legal fees will be charged to the IRC, per the organizationâs by-laws.
Harper additionally requested that the IRC and Dean of Students Office acknowledge his âillegalâ removal and ensure full reinstatement.
The IRC wrote in their Tuesday statement that the investigation conducted by a third party into Harperâs behavior concluded on Monday. The group did not disclose any details about the conclusions of the investigation.
The groupâs board of directors will âvote on the timeline to reinstate Harper as a general member in good standingâ of the IRC by early March, according to the statement.
âThe Board denies any liability to Harper relating to the allegations in his complaint,â the IRC wrote. âAt all times, the HIRC cooperated with school officials and the DSO.â
A College spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit.
âStaff writer Azusa M. Lippit can be reached at azusa.lippit@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @azusalippit or on Threads @azusalippit.
More than two weeks after a fire broke out inside the Lineage warehouse in Boyle Heights, many neighbors have received N95 masks and air purified while mobile health clinics are set up in their area.
But some neighbors said the massive fire that sent toxic fume into the air and created a horrendous stench of rotting food has cost them out of pocket.
Neighbors said they missed days of work while spending extra money on property cleanup. One woman said she spent hundreds of dollars on air purified before they became more widely distributed.
Lineage, the company that operates the burned warehouse, donated $2 million to the California Community Foundation (CCF) so the money can be distributed to the community. The organization said it’s split the money between different organizations.
At least 10 of them are listed as providing financial assistance.
The Boyle Heights Chamber of Commerce said it’s offering small business grants funded, in part, by the group, Inclusive Action for the City.
“We’re hoping that for brick and mortars: it would be up to $3,000. And then for our vendors, it would be up to $1,000,” Miriam Rodriguez with the Boyle Heights Chamber of Commerce said, adding the application is “very straightforward.” “It’s intentionally made that way so that there’s not a lot of requirements. We’re not asking for legal status. We’re not asking for pages of documentation.”
Regions Financial Corp. has expanded its municipal finance and investment banking business with the acquisition of Montgomery-based The Frazer Lanier Company, a firm that has advised Alabama governments, schools and universities on financing for nearly 50 years.
The Birmingham-based bank announced Thursday that it has closed on the acquisition of Frazer Lanier, a full-service investment banking firm specializing in municipal and corporate securities. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 1976, Frazer Lanier has built its business by advising corporations, cities, counties and other public entities on financing projects while serving as an underwriter or placement agent for tax-exempt and taxable bond offerings. Ultimately, the firm helps governments, school systems, universities and other organizations raise money for public projects through bond offerings and other financing strategies.
The Montgomery firm also maintains offices in Birmingham and Florence and says it has served thousands of public and private clients throughout the country.
Along with serving municipalities, Frazer Lanier’s published client list includes the Alabama State Board of Education, the University of Alabama, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Auburn University, the University of South Alabama and Alabama State University, along with numerous city and county school systems across Alabama.
Regions said the acquisition supports its strategy of expanding investment banking capabilities and strengthening services for public-sector, corporate and institutional clients. The company said combining Frazer Lanier’s experience with its Corporate Banking and Capital Markets divisions will expand its municipal finance capabilities and provide clients with broader access to capital markets solutions.
“Two of our top priorities at Regions Bank are strategically expanding our services and investing in top-tier banking talent,” said John Turner, chairman, president and CEO of Regions Financial Corp. “By welcoming experienced bankers from Frazer Lanier to the Regions family, we are connecting Regions’ clients with even greater capabilities while advancing our long-term strategy for growth.”
Frazer Lanier will become part of Regions Bank’s Capital Markets division within the company’s Corporate Banking group.
“There’s a natural fit here,” said Brian Willman, head of Corporate Banking for Regions. “Frazer Lanier has built trust by staying close to clients and helping them navigate important decisions. That’s exactly how we approach relationships at Regions. Together, we can expand that model by bringing more ideas, more capabilities and more connectivity to clients across our markets.”
Regions, which has approximately $161 billion in assets, said the acquisition will strengthen its ability to serve municipalities, corporations and institutional clients across its multi-state footprint while expanding its municipal finance and investment banking services.
Sherri Blevins is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You may contact her at [email protected].
Retirement is often associated with greater freedom and the opportunity to enjoy the rewards of decades of work. But for many people, the transition from earning a regular pay cheque to relying on pensions and savings can feel less like a gentle glide and more like standing at the edge of a financial cliff-edge.
A YouGov survey of 6,224 UK adults found that 55% reported that they were concerned about running out of money in retirement and, among these worried respondents, 63% were under 50 years old.
However, the good news is that avoiding a financial retirement cliff-edge isn’t about having extraordinary wealth – it’s about making informed decisions before and throughout retirement.
We spoke to Susan Hope, retirement expert and business development director at Scottish Widows, who shared the following nine practical steps to help you build a retirement plan that can weather life’s uncertainties and give you greater confidence that your retirement years will be defined by peace of mind rather than financial stress.
1. Understand what state pension and credits you are entitled to
“Make sure the cornerstone of your financial retirement income is covered by the state and you’ve got everything you’re entitled to,” advises Hope. “If you go onto the HMRC app you can find out really quickly when your state pension age is and what you are due to get.
“Another important thing to look at on the app is a year-by-year breakdown of your national insurance contributions.”
Hope recommends going back through your working years to make sure that you’ve got credits for every period because if you weren’t working due to unemployment, illness, or were caring for someone, you may be entitled to national insurance credits.
They help ensure you qualify for certain benefits, most notably the state pension, during periods when you weren’t working, were earning too little to pay National Insurance, or were claiming specific benefits.
2. Locate any lost or missing pension pots
“I have a huge bee in my bonnet about the £31 billion of untraced pensions that we have in the UK,” says Hope. “Go back through your LinkedIn or your CV and make sure that none of that £31 billion is languishing somewhere, because that is your money to have.”
Once you know the name of your previous employer or your old pension provider, you can use the government’s free Pension Tracing Service to help find lost pension pots.
3. Look at the UK’s different retirement living standards
“I think it’s really useful to look at the UK’s retirement living standards, because that will give you an idea of how much you’re going to need in retirement, depending on what type of retirement you want to live,” recommends Hope.
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