I reported last September on the annual fundraiser by the Indianapolis charitable organization The Penrod Society, which funds grants for local arts organizations.  Then, in December, I ran across this report on the Internet:

The Penrod Society is reeling from news that one of its top volunteers allegedly absconded with $380,000 — every penny the organization earned from its annual art fair, plus reserves.“It’s devastating news for us. It’s devastating news for the arts community,” said President Jimmy Art.

…Brandon Benker was a junior auditor at Indianapolis-based Somerset CPAs, where he had been promoted twice since his hiring in 2005. He also was a Penrod volunteer who had been a treasurer and had access to society money.

Benker resigned from the firm in late November, around the time he hired top criminal defense attorney Jim Voyles, said Somerset President Pat Early.

“He spent all the money, or lost it, or whatever he did with it, and realized he was going to get caught,” said Early, himself a Penrod president in the ‘90s. “So before he got caught, he went to an attorney.”

I had been waiting to hear some kind of update on the story, wanting to know whether the Society’s funds had been recovered, or whether in fact Benker was the culprit.

No word yet. If anybody knows more, please feel free to drop me a line.