The president of an Anchorage nonprofit organization is facing serious questions about how the group spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal funds.
The money was part of an American Rescue Plan Act grant distributed by the Anchorage Assembly in 2021. The ARPA funds were intended to help communities recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
That’s when the RACS President Prince Nwankudu publicly asked for funds to help make repairs. A week later, Nwankudu went before Anchorage Assembly members to ask for an ARPA grant to help him do that.In May of that year, the federal government awarded Anchorage a total of $103 million dollars in ARPA funds. The U.S. Treasury Department set the guidelines for how that money is spent.
“I was told they purchased a building in Midtown to provide their services that they had been awarded to for a South Anchorage project,” Constant said. “That was the first time that I had real concern that something wasn’t right.”Last June, Nwankudu and his executive assistant, Carmen Wanous, spoke to the Assembly, but this time they wanted another grant from the city’s second round of ARPA funds.Wanous then explained how RACS had already spent the first $750,000.
RACS expanded by purchasing a 16,000-square-foot church on MacInnes Street on six and a half acres of land. It’s also where Nwankudu presides over services. The grant agreement between RACS and the city of Anchorage was signed by Nwankudu and former Municipal Manager Amy Demboski. We found the contract differed from the proposal terms that the assembly had approved. It now included an appendix allowing RACS the option to “relocate” the pantry, which is something assembly members say they never agreed to.
“I did have a discussion with an inspector from the Department of Treasury, the IRS,” Constant said. “There is definitely interest in this transaction and what’s happened and what’s happening.” Nwankudu’s staff agreed to an interview last November, inviting us to meet with him at their church on McInnes Street.
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