A Richmond woman was sentenced to three years in prison for wire fraud related to her management of a homeless shelter for women and children. Kia A. Player, 41, served as director of RVA Sister’s Keeper, which received more than $995,000 in government funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the City of Richmond.
Court documents state that between August 2022 and April 2023, Player fabricated at least 35 invoices for expenses she claimed were made on behalf of the shelter. The fraudulent invoices led to improper disbursement of funds by the City of Richmond.
Among the false claims, Player submitted at least 21 inflated invoices for meals allegedly provided by “VCM Catering Services,” a non-existent company. In reality, food was supplied by a family member who worked as a cafeteria manager at a public school and sometimes used expired food already purchased with public funds.
Player also submitted an invoice for roof repairs that were never completed while keeping the money intended for those repairs. Additional false invoices included payments for laundry services—though services were only partially rendered—and bed bug treatments that did not occur.
The fraudulent activities resulted in losses totaling $199,163 to HUD and the City of Richmond. According to investigators, Player spent some of these proceeds on personal items such as tattoos, airline tickets, luxury transportation in Miami Beach, furniture, and antiques.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Washington Division and HUD’s Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Avi Panth prosecuted the case with support from the City of Richmond.
Further information about this case can be found through court records on PACER or on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
