In the days following the September 28 murder of Hideout Public Safety Officer José Duran, in Lake Ariel, the Board of Directors and Hideout staff honored his memory with a viewing, candlelight vigil, and solemn procession. They also established the José Duran Memorial Fund to help support his family during this difficult time. (The Hideout is a gated community with approximately 3,600 homes).
But now, just over two months later, serious questions are being raised by Officer Duran’s widow, donors, and residents. An investigation by NEPA News in recent weeks has found the following:

• HOA Board President Andrew Miller was not transparent in communicating with residents that the collection efforts for the “José Duran Memorial Fund” was being administered by a non-profit led by his Husband Brian Carchedi. The entity is Ryan's Angels Ltd., but does business under the name Angel Alliance.
• A portion of the funds raised (known to total at least $35,000) through the official Hideout Association fundraiser has still not been delivered to Officer Duran’s widow, Tinesha Duran.
• Checks that residents wrote out directly to the Duran Fund were being endorsed and processed by Angel Alliance.
• A review of Angel Alliance 990-EZ forms filed with the Internal Revenue Service from 2022 to 2024 do not list any grants or similar amounts paid, despite the group holding many fundraising events.
• Former Hideout Board Chair Robert Trombley resigned in October after he learned that Miller and some other Board members had quietly planned his removal as chairman. This came soon after Trombley warned Miller directly about Angel Alliance not getting involved in the fundraising efforts.

Background

On September 28, Officer José Duran responded to a call at the home of resident Lucas Gartrell, whose parents had come to check on him due to concerns about his mental health. After allegedly shooting his parents, Gartrell opened fire on Officer Duran, who died from his injuries. After a brief pursuit on a motorized scooter, Gartrell was captured and arrested just outside the Hideout by Pennsylvania State Police.

Wayne County District Attorney A.G. Howell has filed multiple criminal charges against Gartrell, and the case remains ongoing. The parents are recovering from their injuries, thanks in part to a courageous neighbor who rushed to help them.

Fundraisers for the Duran Family

A few days after the tragedy, two fundraisers were launched to support Officer Duran’s wife, young child, and two adult children. One of these efforts was a GoFundMe campaign organized by The Hideout Elves.

No issues have been reported by anyone who donated to the campaign, which had raised $50,017.36. The funds were distributed evenly among the three children by the Hideout Elves.

But soon after the GoFundMe account went online, the Hideout POA announced that it, too, was collecting money under the “José Duran Memorial Fund." Checks could be made payable to the Fund and dropped off at the Hideout Association of Property Owners (POA) office or Honesdale National Bank.

Tinesha Duran said in a social media post on November 24, “We ALL believed that it was created and managed solely by the Hideout POA.”

September 30 statement from the Hideout POA

An excerpt from the November edition of the Hideabout newspaper

Ryan’s Angels (Angel Alliance) and Routing of Funds

When donors reviewed their bank statements, they found that their checks had been deposited under the name Ryan’s Angels (Angel Alliance), instead of the José Duran Memorial Fund. The Hideout released a statement on November 2 explaining that using the Ryan’s Angels account was “to avoid a cost being passed on to the Memorial Fund itself” and “solely as a convenience to the POA.” Duran later questioned these claims in a Facebook post, stating, “Who knew you are charged to make a deposit?”

November 2 statement from the Hideout POA

Images show cancelled checks made out to the José Duran Memorial Fund, but endorsed by Ryan’s Angels

Disbursement and Bank Account Questions

On November 5, Duran received a check for $30,000 from the Memorial Fund. However, bank screenshots from the time of the disbursement showed a balance of more than $35,000 in the Fund. Seeking clarity, she specifically requested bank statements from the nonprofit’s own account because it was directly tied to the issue and was the account endorsing the checks. According to Duran, her request was not fulfilled, and her questions were met with inconsistent explanations.

Duran told NEPA News that Miller first told her by phone that $4,000 had been deposited into the Memorial Fund by mistake, but later said the same $4,000 was not a mistake. The exchange added to a series of confusing conversations that left Duran with unanswered questions about the handling of the funds.

Fundraising Events and Raffles

In one text message, Miller warned that a planned golf-outing fundraiser might be canceled, stating, “Based on your family’s behavior, they are considering canceling the golf outing, as they don’t want the headache.” After repeatedly seeking clarification and transparency, Duran responded in a Facebook post: “I feel frustrated and angry that my husband’s memory is being used to profit their organization and that the Durans are being labeled as headaches.”

Text message from Miller to Duran

In another message, she was told by Miller that Carchedi had allegedly spent $2,500 of his own money to set up the Memorial Fund and would have to spend another $600 for tax mailings. NEPA News found these claims inconsistent with normal banking practices.

Seeking clarity, Duran contacted Honesdale National Bank and was informed that only Brian Carchedi, President of Angel Alliance, had access to the account. The bank later stated in a letter dated November 17 that a “labeling malfunction” showed deposited checks identified under the company's "Login Name" (Ryan's Angels) and not the "Account Name," making it appear as if they were routed through the non-profit. The bank further stated that all deposits were correctly placed into the Memorial Fund despite the inaccurate label.

Hideout POA and Angel Alliance Connections

The Hideout POA’s connection to the Angel Alliance runs deeper than Miller and Carchedi. Jo-Ann DelliSanti, the Angel Alliance treasurer, is the wife of Hideout Vice President Lou DelliSanti, while Angel Alliance Secretary Elizabeth Yocum is married to Richard Yocum, now chairman of the Hideout Board of Directors. Both Jo-Ann DelliSanti and Elizabeth Yocum also serve on the Hideout’s Nominating Committee.

IRS Filings and Charitable Reporting

While Ryan’s Angels publicly touts a commitment to funding local charities, its IRS records tell a different story. For nearly its entire existence, the nonprofit reported zero dollars in contributions, gifts, grants or other charitable donations on the IRS line specifically designated for those payments. The lone exception occurred in 2021, when the group listed $5,000 in contributions, an amount that fell exactly one dollar short of the threshold requiring public identification of the recipient. In subsequent years, the organization shifted thousands of dollars labeled as “donations” into its operating expenses on Schedule O, which is intended to provide additional detail or clarification about other line items on the IRS Form 990-EZ, not to report donations to third parties. With the exception of the $5,000 in 2021, Ryan’s Angels did not properly report any contributions, according to IRS rules. Instead, they lumped funds labeled as "donations" into Schedule O, placing them where charitable contributions do not belong and providing no breakdown or information about recipients. Because the amounts were listed alongside other expenses, it is unclear whether they were actually charitable donations or simply costs associated with events. By doing so, the filings obscure whether any money reached intended beneficiaries, offering no verifiable evidence that the "donations" benefited anyone at all.

Most recent (2024) IRS filing by Ryan's Angels aka Angel Alliance

Fundraising Reactions

Robert Trombley, who served as Chairman of the Hideout Board of Directors during the shooting incident and until his recent resignation, told NEPA News that he announced his resignation at a social club meeting after being removed as chairman by certain board members. He also submitted a detailed statement, portions of which read:

"I’ve spent the majority of every day during the last two weeks, helping to handle the loss of our Public Safety Officer, Jose Duran.  In that time this board worked hard to craft communications, plan a respectful tribute for Officer Duran, message with our members, local politicians and leaders, and to get through what I believe to be the most difficult period in our history.  We experienced a violent death in a member’s home, and our first “active shooter” incident in 50 years.  We also held our first wake and candlelight vigil for our first fallen Public Safety Officer.
That is where my focus and energy was concentrated…On our community…doing what I could do to help it heal.  Shame on me for not taking note of the dishonest politicking that was taking place behind my back.  It’s an unfortunate ritual that takes place before the Annual Meeting each year.  From my experience, the Members of the Board call each other and wheel and deal for position on the Board in the coming year.  Doing favors for each other…offering their votes if they can get a nomination in return.  It’s very much like what goes on in Washington DC today.  It’s a ritual that Bill Wagner and I have never taken part in, although we’re always approached.
But the board didn’t have the guts to be honest with me, and tell Bill and I that they had lost confidence in me.  I would have willingly stepped aside.  It’s a thankless job that requires you to be available night and day. They opted to work behind our backs to orchestrate my removal from the office of Chairman in a clandestine manner."

When asked about efforts by Miller and Carchedi to involve themselves in fundraising for Officer Duran, Trombley said he explicitly rejected the offer, stating, “My response to him was ‘absolutely not!’ I told Andrew that if the POA was going to be involved with fundraising by accepting checks and/or cash, we could have absolutely nothing to do with, or any association to, Ryan’s Angels. I told him a bank would have to be involved and that a bank employee would have to administer the account. He agreed, told me he’d take care of it, and after seeing the original announcement for the ‘Duran Fund,’ I thought it had been taken care of properly.”

“I didn’t know ANYTHING about Ryan’s Angels being involved with this fundraising until people started complaining that their donations (canceled checks) were being endorsed by Ryan’s Angels (on Facebook),” Trombley said in an email sent to NEPA News in response to questions. “I didn’t know anything about the difficulties Mrs. Duran was experiencing until she posted her first letter about it on Facebook.”

excerpt from Duran’s initial Facebook post, in which she urged for full transparency

There was another fundraiser in November held by Angel Alliance, known as "Night at the Races", a regularly schedule event for the non-profit.

One attendee of the “Night at the Races” fundraiser shared her experience regarding the event’s 50/50 raffle. In a social media comment, Shelly Nelly stated that the woman who won the 50/50 "did not receive ANY of the winnings” because she was pressured into donating the money back to the fund for Officer José Duran’s family. According to Nelly, the pressure came from the event’s announcer. Nelly wrote that she has attended “many fundraiser events” and had never witnessed a winner being publicly pressured to return their winnings. Her remarks expressed sympathy for those attempting to address concerns surrounding the event and disappointment over what she described as “crummy” behavior.

Adding to these concerns, Duran (at press time) said that she never received any money from this fundraiser. 

Duran, in one of her most recent Facebook posts, said she still cannot get a full accounting of how much money was raised in her husband’s name. Angel Alliance, the Hideout POA, Andrew Miller, Brian Carchedi and the Hideout property manager Judy Kennedy have not responded to multiple requests for comment regarding the allegations made by Officer Duran’s widow. No parties involved, with the exception of Tanisha Duran, have spoken publicly about the situation as of press time, despite public criticism.

THIS IS PART 1 OF A MULTI-PART SERIES THAT NEPA NEWS WILL PUBLISH ABOUT THE HANDLING OF THE JOSÉ DURAN MEMORIAL FUND.

This initial story may also be updated as new information becomes available in coming weeks.

Anyone with firsthand information about any of these issues can email: NEPANewsLive@Gmail.com

Correction: Hideout Association Meeting Date

NEPA News previously reported that the next Hideout Association meeting was scheduled for December 17, 2025, as published in the December issue of the Hideabout Extra on page 3. We have since learned that this information was incorrect.

The next Hideout Association meeting is scheduled for January 17, 2026.