PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — An ex-employee for a nonprofit that operates shelters in Multnomah County has claimed the organization ousted her after she learned fellow executives were misusing funds.
In a complaint filed on Feb. 12, former Sunstone Way Director of Finance Kate Fulton has sought $4.5 million in damages related to her termination. She further alleged three executives — Chief Executive Officer Andy Goebel, Chief Systems Officer Alicia Hovanas and former Chief Financial Officer Scott Takemoto — misappropriated hundreds of thousands of funds that had been allocated to the nonprofit through Multnomah County’s Joint Office of Homeless Services.
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According to the lawsuit, Fulton was hired as the organization’s finance manager in October 2023 before being promoted to director a few months later in early 2024. She claimed Goebel and Hovanas used taxpayer dollars to spend an additional night alone during an organization-wide director’s retreat that spring, and it “became apparent” Sunstone Way’s finances were being misused by that July.
“That month, the organization nearly failed to make payroll for its employees and was able to do so only through Plaintiff’s negotiation with Sunstone Way’s bank to avoid a default,” the complaint reads. “Defendant Sunstone Way’s fiscal year runs from July 1 – June 30. The organization should not have faced financial issues just one month into its fiscal calendar.”
Fulton claimed Goebel decided to relocate the nonprofit’s office to a “more expensive building” on Southwest Naito Parkway around that same time, while continuing to spend up to $226,000 in rent for the empty former office space in Revolution Hall.
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Later in October 2024, she claimed the CEO took over her presentation to Sunstone Way’s Board of Directors about the nonprofit’s finances when she revealed leaders were awaiting a new contract from the county to “address severe cash flow pressures.”
Among several other allegations, Fulton said Goebel told her to “downplay” some of the organization’s financial woes in a report to the board president and informed her he had “made a deal” with one of the nonprofit’s vendors she believed had overbilled them by $210,000.
The plaintiff also alleged then-CFO Takemoto told her not to question the CEO’s financial choices, after she noted her process for tracking his “suspicious invoices.”
The lawsuit states Fulton was terminated over a Teams call for “undermining the executive team” in February 2025, after she had been out of the office for several days due to an illness. The plaintiff further alleged executives later declined her offer to waive her claims against them if they wrote a 1,000-word “letter of accountability” related to her financial concerns.
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“Sunstone Way is committed to the highest ethical standards and strong internal controls to ensure full compliance with government fiscal requirements,” the organization wrote in a statement to KOIN 6. “We are working closely with legal counsel and will address this matter through the appropriate legal channels. As this is pending litigation, we are unable to provide further comment. We remain confident in the integrity of our organization and in the leadership guiding our work. Our focus continues to be the individuals and communities we serve.”
In a statement, Multnomah County told KOIN 6 it “does not comment on pending litigation.”
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