A federal jury in Portland has convicted the former president of the Oregon foster care agency Give Us This Day on charges of theft, money laundering and tax evasion.
The jury found 59-year-old Mary Holden Ayala guilty of stealing nearly $1 million from the Portland agency.
Ayala was the president, executive director and primary agent of Give Us This Day from at least 2008 to 2015.
From 2009 to 2015, Ayala had sole control over the agency's finances. She used money from Give Us This Day to pay her mortgage, remodel her home, travel and for other expenses including luxury shoes and purses and a music recording studio, according to court documents.
"Mary Ayala's theft of nearly $1 million was nothing short of stealing food and shelter from the most vulnerable of our population," said Troy Burrus, a special agent with IRS Criminal Investigation in Seattle.
After she resigned from the agency in 2015, Ayala filed six false federal income tax returns from 2009 to 2014. She failed to file for 2015, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for Oregon.
Ayala will be sentenced May 29.