Nevada Non-Profit Founder Under Investigation for Misconduct
Jon Ponder, the CEO of non-profit organization Hope for Prisoners, is under investigation for alleged misconduct, the Nevada Current reported.
Ponder was convicted three times for bank robbery in 2005; after his release from prison in 2009, he founded Hope for Prisoners, which offers re-entry programming like job training and counseling. In 2020, Ponder won a pardon from President Donald Trump (R) during the Republican National Convention, as part of an effort to draw attention to criminal justice issues ahead of that year’s election. Then-Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak (D) refused to restore Ponder’s Second Amendment right to own a firearm due to a separate domestic violence conviction.
Hope for Prisoners receives state funding for its programs and has gained additional support under current state Governor Joe Lombardo (R). The Nevada Department of Corrections (DOC), which said Ponder no longer works with the agency, refused to comment on the investigation, other than to say it is not leading it. Neither Ponder nor Hope for Prisoners agreed to provide comment to the Nevada Current.
A wrongful termination lawsuit from 2024 filed by a former Hope for Prisoners executive attempted to force the release of a letter written to the organization’s board that detailed “allegations of sexual misconduct with clients, mentors, and/or employees of the Company by Jon Ponder, CEO of the Company.”
Sources: Nevada Current, The New York Times
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