The brother of a woman murdered by her husband is accused of mishandling more than $30,000 raised by a charity formed in her memory. Sheri Coleman, 31, together with her sons Garett, 11, and Gavin, 9, were found strangled in their beds in Columbia, Illinois, in 2009. Husband Christopher Coleman, a former chief of security for televangelist Joyce Meyer, was convicted of first-degree murder two years later and is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Mario DeCicco was named in Tuesday's lawsuit which alleges that 'at least $33,173' of the money donated to the Sheri Ann & Her Boys charity has been improperly spent . Sheri's brother Mario DeCicco was supposed to be managing a charity setup in their honor called Sheri Ann & Her Boys dedicated to combating domestic abuse. But on Tuesday he was named in a civil lawsuit which alleges that 'at least $33,173 of the charity's funds appeared to have been improperly withdrawn as cash and spent on expenses outside of the organization's mission.' Only $2,550 of the money appeared to have been spent on domestic violence prevention, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Allegations about the missing money first emerged last year and DeCicco told the Post-Dispatch at the time that he given $28,000 in cash to a woman's shelter in Chicago, although he refused to reveal its name. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who filed Tuesday's lawsuit, claims the money didn't go to the shelter. Her lawsuit alleges that DeCicco violated the state's Charitable Trust and Solicitation for Charity Acts and she is asking for a judge to order a full accounting of the money he withdrew as cash. Christopher Coleman was convicted of first-degree murder following the 2009 deaths of Sheri Coleman, 31, together with her sons Garett, 11, and Gavin, 9, . If foung guilty DeCicco would be liable for any assets improperly used  and could face criminal prosecution. Madigan also wants him removed as the charity's president and for it to be dissolved. 'The circumstances in this case are extremely disheartening,' Madigan said. 'I am filing this action to ensure that the misappropriated charitable funds are recovered and dedicated to violence prevention efforts as originally intended.' In the wake of the shocking murders, friends and neighbors had raised the money via garage sales, lemonade stands and other community events. A Bikers Save Lives benefit ride had raised over $15,000 alone. Prosecutors said Coleman, 32, killed his family to start a new life with a lover in Florida while avoiding a divorce that might have exposed an extramarital affair and possibly cost him his job as a bodyguard for high-profile televangelist Joyce Meyer. Friends and neighbors of Sheri Coleman and her boys raised over $30,000 which was supposed to go towards helping victims of domestic abuse . Prosecutors argued at his 2011 trial that Coleman feared he would lose his $100,000-a-year job as part of the personal security detail for multi-millionaire Pentecostal preacher  Meyer - who travels the world delivering evangelical lectures - if his affair were to become public. The year before the murders he started a relationship with Tara Lintz, a childhood friend of Coleman's wife, who testified that Coleman had promised he would serve divorce papers on May 5, 2009 - the same day his family were found murdered in their beds inside their Waterloo home. Pentecostal preacher Joyce Meyer, Christian Coleman's former employer, who travels the world delivering evangelical lectures . Coleman allegedly spent six months plotting the brutal murder, shortly after beginning an affair with Miss Lintz, a Florida cocktail waitress. The jury was shown explicit photos and messages exchanged between the pair, including a video of Coleman masturbating. They had also filmed a sex tape in Hawaii. According to the prosecution, Coleman started sending his family threatening, expletive-filled messages from a gmail account he set up himself. The first read simply: 'Your family is done'. They continued with 'tell Joyce to stop preaching [expletive] or your Chris's family will die' and 'I will kill them all as they sleep.' But prosecutors say the threats were in fact a ploy to set up a mystery stalker as the murderer. They claim he decided to kill his wife rather than reveal his affair and go through a divorce . Charismatic Christian Meyer - who Coleman had known since he was a child - gave a pre-recorded testimony saying that Coleman most likely would have lost his job had he been revealed as having an affair. The day before killings, Coleman said he wasn't feeling well and was given the day off by Meyer, who said was unusual behavior for her employee. The next day, May 5, 2009, Coleman left his comfortable suburban house in Waterloo to go to the gym at 5.43am. After his workout he said he called home and was worried when no-one answered, so he rang a neighbor, police officer Justin Barlow, to check on his family. Officer Jason Donjon, who entered the house with Mr Barlow, testified that they found the house covered in threatening messages daubed in red paint. The graffiti read: 'I am watching', 'punished' and 'u have paid'. Then they discovered the bodies of Mrs Coleman and her two sons, killed in separate bedrooms. Cops who entered the Coleman's home in 2009 testified that they found the house covered in threatening messages daubed in red paint and the bodies of Mrs Coleman and her two sons in separate bedrooms . Mrs Coleman was left naked in bed, strangled with a ligature. Her eldest son, Garett, was curled up in bed with spray paint on his sheets. Finally the youngest, Gavin, was seen lying face down with his limbs dangling either side of the bed and swear words daubed on his covers. Later, pathologist Dr Raj Nanduri, who performed the autopsy, said it was likely the victims were strangled between 3am and 5am - before Coleman left for the gym. Police also said they found a Word document on Coleman's computer that had details about Lintz, including her ring size, and even a name for their future child, Zoe. Coleman pleaded not guilty to all charges. He has never admitted having anything to do with the murders.
Mario DeCicco is accused of spending 'at least $33,173' of the money donated to the Sheri Ann & Her Boys charity . His sister, Sheri Coleman, together with sons Garett, 11, and Gavin, 9, were found strangled in their beds in Columbia, Illinois, in 2009 . Husband Chrisopher, a former chief of security for televangelist Joyce Meyer, was convicted of first-degree two years later . Friends and neighbors raised the money which was supposed to go towards help victims of domestic abuse . DeCicco said last year that he had donated $28,000 to a woman's shelter in Chicago, but the lawsuit says that is simply not true .