A former Hershey official is claiming that the multi-billion-dollar Hershey Trust Co., had widespread financial irregularities.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Robert Reese has filed court documents alleging that Hershey Trust board members allowed excessive compensation for board members, violations of federal banking regulations and free limousine rides, luxury hotel stays and rounds of golf.

Reese, a  descendant of the peanut-butter cup fortune, recently was dismissed as top executive of the charity, which helps poor children. He served as president of the Hershey Trust Co., which is basically the bank that manages the charity’s funds on behalf of the Milton Hershey School, says the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Officials from Hershey Trust say they have received the petition and take their fiduciary duties very seriously.

“We will review these matters and respond appropriately,” the company said in an e-mail to Candy Industry.

The statement also noted, “Although Mr. Reese has been a board member of Hershey Trust Company since 2007, the trust company received notification of this filing only after Mr. Reese learned that he was not reelected to the board for another term.”

Reese could not be reached by Candy Industry. However, he says in the Philadelphia Inquirer article that he would have liked to settle the issues privately, but believed he had to file the petition to protect the charity, and that he had a legal duty to do so.

The Hershey Trusts oversees $8 billion in assets. 

For more information visit www.hersheytrust.com

-C.L.