CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — On Thursday, a man who stole more than $800,000 from a West Virginia nonprofit organization will be sentenced. The agency from which he embezzled is also asking for hundreds of thousands of dollars in restitution.

Benjamin Cisco is facing up to 40 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.

When caught defrauding West Virginia Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster of $871,000 between March 2020 and September 2022, the non-profit's finance and operations manager pleaded guilty. Examination of court documents shows not only is Cisco facing a potential lengthy prison sentence and substantial fine, WV VOAD want to extract its pound of financial flesh as well.

Working from his position as the person who handled WV VOAD's money, Cisco combined mileage expenses with phony gift cards and other financial maneuvering to embezzle more than 800,000. In its victim impact statement, the nonprofit agency claims Cisco's theft hampered its operations and wants him to pay back hundreds of thousands of dollars.

His defense lawyer hired certified public accountants Herman and Cormany to verify those losses. The figures presented by those accountants paint a very different picture.

While Cisco's theft of more than $800,000 is significant, records show the West Virginia Board of Risk and Insurance Management paid WV VOAD more than $874,000 to cover Cisco's theft. Additionally, WV VOAD contends Cisco's actions cost the agency a $150,000 grant from the Benedum Foundation and $50,000 grant from the Kanawha County Commission.

The CPA's examination of the records show that WV VOAD received $160,000 from two Benedum Foundation grants in 2021 and $50,000 from the Kanawha County Commission last year.

However, that money was taken back by commissioners last November after WV VOAD requested permission to spend it on things other than bridge repair, which is what it was intended for. Commissioner Ben Salango said he had concerns about VOAD's money practices following media reports outlining questionable spending by the agency.

On Sunday, WV VOAD executive Jenny Gannaway appeared before the West Virginia Legislature's Joint Committee on Flooding, during which she was asked pointed questions about her handling of VOAD funds and donated items by committee member and Senate Finance Chair Eric Tarr.

After the hearing, Tarr explained his line of questioning.

"There's been some videos that have come up that had discussions of her in those videos where she's having things directed questionably," Tarr said. "Donations that should have came to VOAD and ended up in people's homes who have had disasters happen to them, flooding and other things. Instead of those items going to those disaster relief victims, she testified in committee that some of them went to her homes."

Tarr offered a motion to have the state Senate Committee on Investigations, state auditor and legislative auditor all take a close look at WV VOAD's finances. It passed unanimously.

Since 2016, the organization has received nearly $28 million dollars from state agencies.

Gannaway attempted to explain the situation.

"The allegations that were made was over a year and half ago. There was an independent counsel that looked into those allegations and I was cleared of any allegations," Gannaway said. "I am very confident that in looking into the finances that anything that has came to West Virginia VOAD from the state or any other entity, we will show that they have been spent properly and correctly."

In its summary of WV VOAD's claim for restitution, the accountant hired by Cisco's defense attorney said numerous problems, including understated revenue, double counting reimbursements, neglecting to include an insurance claim payment and blaming Cisco for a decline in overall revenue without offering any evidence presents "a distorted view of Mr. Cisco's impact on WV VOAD and as a result is unreliable and inaccurate."

U.S. District Judge Irene Berger will consider both sides during Thursday's hearing, scheduled for 11 a.m. at the Byrd Federal Courthouse in Charleston.