How An Upstate NY Nonprofit President Defrauded His Organization

The whole point of a nonprofit is in the name: it's NOT for PROFIT. Unfortunately, not everyone seems to understand that, and some nonprofits become personal piggybanks for greedy individuals.

Upstate New York is no exception to this, and a recent scandal has finally come to a head.

Snowdrifters of Stratford Defrauded

Located just over an hour outside of Albany, Snowdrifters of Stratford is a nonprofit that exists to clean and maintain snowmobile paths in the Adirondack Mountains. In November of 2024 the President, Chad Daley, was arrested for stealing over $8,000 from the organization for his own financial gain.

Over the course of five years, from 2018 to 2023, he cashed checks made payable to the Snowdrifters in his own private bank account. The initial run of checks totaled up to $4,155, and he followed that up by cashing a $3,500 Snowdrifters check that his longtime partner endorsed. He also used the nonprofit funds as his personal piggybank, taking $5,000 deposits, and used their tax-exempt status to buy snowmobiles and trailers for himself.

Get our free mobile app

Daley Pleads Guilty

On September 17th, 2025, Daley plead guilty in the theft of over $17,000 from Snowdrifters of Stratford. He engaged in a plea deal in which he admitted wrongdoing and paid the nonprofit back in full. That's no small sum to pay at all.

Daley was charged with Larceny, and has served his punishment. The 52 year old is remorseful, or at least apologetic about his actions, and has no plans to return to the nonprofit he was president of for over a decade.