RICHMOND, Va. – A Richmond woman was sentenced today to three years in prison for wire fraud in connection with her operation of a homeless shelter focused on women and children.

According to court documents, Kia A. Player, 41, won a grant to operate an inclement weather shelter for homeless women and children in the Richmond metropolitan area, named RVA Sister’s Keeper. RVA Sister’s Keeper obtained over $995,000 in governmental funding from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the City of Richmond to implement and operate the shelter. From August 2022 through April 2023, Player, RVA Sister’s Keeper’s director, fabricated and falsified at least 35 separate invoices for costs purportedly paid for the benefit of RVA Sister’s Keeper and its homeless residents, even though Player never made corresponding expenditures on RVA Sister’s Keeper’s behalf. Player submitted these fraudulent and inflated invoices for reimbursement to the City of Richmond, causing the city to improperly disburse funds to her.

For example, Player submitted at least 21 separate inflated invoices claiming RVA Sister’s Keeper made payments to an entity called “VCM Catering Services” to provide breakfast and dinner at the homeless shelter. VCM Catering Services was a fictitious business, however, and Player had hired a family member to provide breakfast and dinner for the homeless residents. This family member was a cafeteria manager at a Richmond City public school and occasionally provided RVA Sister’s Keeper residents with food taken from the school’s cafeteria – food that had already been procured with other public funds and was in some cases expired.

Player fabricated an invoice purporting to show that RVA Sister’s Keeper paid for repairs to the shelter’s roof, submitting the invoice to the City of Richmond. Player then stole the corresponding money the City of Richmond provided for the roof repairs, though the roof had multiple leaks. Player fabricated documentation purporting to show that RVA Sister’s Keeper paid a laundry company for wash and fold services on ten different occasions, though the company only provided services on three occasions and homeless residents sometimes received used blankets. Player also fabricated invoices for other services, such as bed bug treatment, that were never provided.

Player’s inflated invoice scheme caused $199,163 in actual losses to HUD and the City of Richmond. Player spent the fraud proceeds on personal expenses, including on a tattoo, airline tickets, a luxury Caribbean ferry ride in Miami Beach, furniture, and items at an antiques store.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service Washington Division and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Avi Panth prosecuted the case. The City of Richmond provided substantial assistance in the prosecution of this case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:25-cr-146.