KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A man who worked as the executive director of the Bright Futures Fund and the director of stewardship for the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City–St. Joseph has been charged in federal court with wire fraud.
Jeremy Lillig, 44, allegedly fraudulently obtained and activated 436 Visa gift cards worth $155,000, according to a court document filed in the case.
The Kauffman Foundation gave a grant to the Bright Futures Fund in 2017.
As executive director of the fund, Lillig was issued a credit card by the Catholic Diocese, according to the court document.
Lillig was required to file expense reports monthly for items he bought for the Diocese.
Instead, he began a scheme to defraud or obtain money by buying Visa gift cards with his Diocese credit card.
He used false information on his monthly expense reports to hide his fraud scheme.
Lillig would use the money on the gift cards for himself and others not listed on the expense reports, according to the court document.
A pretrial conference is set for February 2026.
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