The Chief Financial Officer of the ASPCA was dismissed in what seems to be an unjust manner while attending his daughter’s wedding.
Gordon Lavalet, who held the position since 2021, claims that the esteemed nonprofit organization has engaged in distributing hundreds of millions in what he deems “illegal” contracts. His lawsuit also indicates that his warnings about serious breaches of the Animal Safety Act were, well, ignored.
According to the suit filed recently in a New Jersey court, the ASPCA allegedly preferred to violate the law, opting instead to overpay millions of dollars to certain vendors.
However, when Lavalet attempted to steer the focus back to animal welfare, the ASPCA allegedly banded together, systematically undermining his reputation and career.
Lavalet, 61, asserts he received excellent performance reviews and commendations during his tenure.
Everything shifted in 2024 when he claims he uncovered issues involving contracts related to fundraising and noticed what he considers to be a reckless misuse of donor funds. The lawsuit mentions that since 2016, the organization has spent over $340 million on non-bid vendor contracts, which Lavalet describes as surprisingly excessive—almost equivalent to the charity’s overall annual revenue in 2023.
He argues that bypassing competitive bids has led to millions of dollars being wasted each year.
The ASPCA responded by downplaying his claims, calling them simplistic and affirming their commitment to providing robust defenses in any civil matters.
They further insisted that they treated these issues seriously from the beginning, engaging independent lawyers to assess the situation and affirming their policies align with their mission to protect animals.
In the lawsuit, various non-bid contract issues are documented, suggesting an alarming trend of nonprofit groups sidelining their core missions.
It alleges actions amounting to common law fraud against the donors. One email claimed that Lavalet intended to manipulate a crucial $2 million non-bid contract with a vendor who was a personal connection. When he flagged that this vendor was not qualified and insisted on a bidding process, the responses were unhelpful, steering back towards the same problematic vendors.
This “friend” ultimately threatened to sue Lavalet when he didn’t receive the contract, compelling the ASPCA to settle for $50,000.
The lawsuit also alleges that CEO Matthew Barshacker expressed frustration when another whistleblower suggested reallocating funds meant for additional services towards improving conditions at ASPCA shelters.
Barshacker, who makes around $1.2 million annually, reportedly reacted harshly to this suggestion. He allegedly dismissed Lavalet’s concerns about necessary improvements to a deteriorating shelter, famously calling those efforts a “waste of time.”
Before his termination, Lavalet claims he was under scrutiny from the Internal Safety Board after reporting issues regarding animal transport. He highlighted problems such as the disconnection of logging devices in vehicles and brake failures in newly acquired trailers, which he deemed dangerous.
Fearing retaliation for raising these concerns, Lavalet claims threats about negative performance criticisms began circulating among board members.
Additionally, another executive purportedly attempted to coerce Lavalet into participating in retaliatory actions against whistleblowers, which he firmly declined.
