Former guardian of Gatesway Foundation clients charged with embezzlement, exploitation

The former Gatesway Foundation aide also faces exploitation accusation

A former court-ordered guardian of adults with intellectual disabilities at the Gatesway Foundation has been accused of embezzling about $180,000 from people under her guardianship, according to court documents.

Charges were expected to be filed against Leslie Mansfield, who was responsible for clients of the Gatesway Foundation, a Broken Arrow nonprofit that serves adults with intellectual disabilities and has been the focus of a recent Department of Health investigation.

The charges — one count of exploitation of a vulnerable adult and one count of embezzlement — were mistakenly filed July 2 against Leslie Ann Mansfield, a 38-year-old retail worker who had no involvement with Gatesway. Charges will soon be filed against Leslie E. Mansfield, a former University of Tulsa law professor.

Officer James Koch, public information officer for the Broken Arrow Police Department, said a “clerical error” was the reason charges were filed against the wrong person. He said new charges are expected to be filed Monday.

Sally Van Schenck, spokeswoman for the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office, said the filed charges “were based on information provided to us by the Broken Arrow Police Department.”

Van Schenck said all charges against Leslie Ann Mansfield were dismissed Wednesday afternoon. The dismissal order was signed by Judge Sarah Smith.

Citing an affidavit filed by the department, the Gatesway Foundation said in a statement that Mansfield allegedly embezzled nearly $90,000 from the trust accounts of four residents beginning in 2012 and withdrew another $90,000 from the trust account of a fifth alleged victim upon his death.

A Gatesway accounting employee reportedly contacted authorities in January after Mansfield reportedly “failed repeatedly to provide documents necessary to complete clients’ required care plans,” according to the Gatesway statement.

“I was sick when I found out the extent of the damage,” that employee said in the statement.

The affidavit apparently details some of Mansfield’s alleged actions, accusing her of purchasing cashier’s checks to a car dealership totaling more than $25,000, according to the Gatesway statement. One client’s account was allegedly stripped of nearly $40,000 from 2013 to 2017.

Many of the foundation’s clients live below the poverty line, and Mansfield managed accounts that included state and federal funds meant to pay for housing, food, medical care and other necessities.

Gatesway officials stressed that Mansfield had no connection to the foundation other than her court-ordered guardianship of its clients. She was employed at the University of Tulsa as an assistant clinical professor of law from 1999 to 2005, according to a university spokeswoman.

Separately, the Gatesway Foundation is facing possible termination from Medicare and Medicaid programs after a Department of Health investigation in May found deficiencies that placed clients in “immediate jeopardy,” according to a June 8 letter to the foundation from the Health Department.

The investigation, which was first reported by The Frontier, a Tulsa online news organization, found that one client who had a “mild intellectual disability” and was incontinent had once soiled herself and was left unattended, an employee reportedly told investigators. Another client was reportedly told to clean up after the woman.

The foundation has submitted a plan to the Department of Health to correct the deficiencies. It has until Aug. 13 to prove it has implemented that plan in order to remain compliant with Medicare and Medicaid requirements.

In May, Gatesway announced that it would begin selling off some of its Tulsa-area properties, the Tulsa World reported at the time. Officials pointed to years of inadequate funding both from the state and private sources as a reason for the decision, which was made to eliminate debt and improve liquidity, ultimately allowing Gatesway “to focus on more efficiently delivering its mission,” its president said at the time.

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Former guardian of Gatesway Foundation clients charged with embezzlement, exploitation