Las Vegas police detectives have questioned people with ties to Lutheran Social Services of Nevada about the financial dealings of the nonprofit, a source said.

This month, detectives with the Metropolitan Police Department have asked about payments to the wife of the nonprofit’s CEO, Tim Bedwell, and to her business partner, according to a source who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Two former board members and a former employee confirmed that they had been contacted by police. A third former board member who purportedly had been contacted denied it.

The detectives asked whether payments were made to Henderson City Councilwoman Carrie Cox, a member of the nonprofit’s board, according to the source. And they inquired about a $10 million federal contract awarded to the nonprofit and terminated a year later.

In November, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported on monthly payments of $8,500 apiece to Michele Bedwell and her business partner Adam Kent in 2024. At the time, both were on the board of directors, positions that are unpaid.

Several other board members, as well as key employees, resigned in September 2024 after they said they learned of the payments. Some said no contracts were produced to justify the payments for what they described as ill-defined services.

Metro’s public information office did not respond to a request for comment. The Bedwells and Kent did not comment for this story.

Tim Bedwell previously said there was nothing improper about payments to his wife, who he said did marketing and fundraising for the nonprofit, and to Kent, a consultant whom he promoted to an executive position.

In November, Michele Bedwell wrote in an email to the Review-Journal that she had been paid just $2,500 in the previous five months.

In October, the 40-year-old nonprofit, which is loosely affiliated with the Lutheran Church but not directly overseen by it, suspended operations, citing the government shutdown and delays in receiving federal payments. It has not resumed operating a food pantry for low-income people and providing hot meals for seniors.

The detectives asking whether money was paid to Cox by the nonprofit are part of Metro’s public integrity unit, according to the source.

That unit has been investigating Cox in another matter. In November, the elected official was indicted under a rarely used law on a felony charge of monitoring or attempting to monitor a private conversation involving rival Henderson Councilwoman Monica Larson.

Cox did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

Detectives also have asked about a $10 million contract awarded to Lutheran Social Services by the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority in August 2024 and terminated a year later after the nonprofit had been paid almost $600,000.

The contract was for the nonprofit to provide support services to the more than 200 households relocating from Marble Manor, a low-income public housing complex slated to be razed and rebuilt.

The housing authority terminated the contract for convenience and not for cause, without providing a more specific reason in its notice of termination. However, the Review-Journal reported in December that the nonprofit’s former manager for the Marble Manor program said the grant was mismanaged.

Tim Bedwell denied the claim of mismanagement, writing in an email to the Review-Journal, “The oversight on HUD grants is rigorous, and it was managed by” the housing authority.

HUD is a reference to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In the months leading up to the contract’s termination, the housing authority began to question certain expenses and note missed deadlines, its emails to the nonprofit show. The emails were obtained through public records requests by the news organization.

The nonprofit reported gross revenues of $5.1 million and expenses of $4.7 million for the fiscal year ending June 2024, its most recent tax filing shows.

This story has been updated to clarify that board members contacted by Metro no longer were on the board.

Contact Mary Hynes at mhynes@reviewjournal.com or at 702-383-0336. Follow @MaryHynes1 on X. Hynes is a member of the Review-Journal’s investigative team, focusing on reporting that holds leaders and agencies accountable and exposes wrongdoing.