The Two Stickers: How a Small-Museum Scam Stole $58,000 in Plain Sight

The Two Stickers: How a Small-Museum Scam Stole $58,000 in Plain Sight A single photograph of two differently colored stickers on unopened boxes exposed a scheme that siphoned $58,000 from a small historical society over 26 months - and the two grants behind those stickers totaled $84,000 for a $42,000 project. How did identical proposals, duplicate funding, and a made-up vendor go unnoticed until a photo in a parking lot forced the audit question: who was collecting the extra money? In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the first grant awards to the audit findings, laying out the people, paperwork, and transactions that created the illusion of a completed digitization project. What did the unopened boxes and matching reports really reveal about internal controls and trust at the Calverton County Historical Society? Person: Bruce Bell Role: Executive director Date (photo): December 4, 2019 Total awarded: $84,000 Actual project cost: $42,000 - The Illinois Humanities Council awarded $42,000 in February 2017 in two installments. - The Hartwell Family Foundation awarded $42,000 in April 2017 in a single lump sum. - Over 26 months Bruce Bell issued 31 checks to CHS Document Services, each between $800 and $3,200. - Approximately $26,000 was spent on legitimate expenses including scanning equipment, archival supplies, and part-time labor. - An audit completed in February 2020 by senior auditor Duane White found the two proposals were nearly identical in language, budget, and timeline. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].