Its absolutely appalling the way some people use the charitable instincts of others to make a quick buck for themselves. Luckily, there are some
people paying attention to call them out when they get too greedy.
The 9/11 Charity Fraud Shame List
The Associated Press checked in with 325 charities founded in the wake of 9/11, many of which are still active. Most of them were doing nice things!
But a bunch were doing ethically dubious, borderline fraudulent things, frittering away millions of benevolently bestowed dollars.
Examples:
Arizona resident Kevin Held raised $713,000 to create a 9/11 memorial quilt "big enough to cover 25 football fields." He gave himself a a $175,000
salary, a $200 weekly car allowance, "rent reimbursement," and unreported "loans." He paid his family members "consulting fees." He said a Catholic
priest was the chariman of his charity's board, but the Catholic priest wasn't even aware of it. He told lies about the origin of his charity. He will
soon move into a $660,000 five-bedroom home overlooking a lake. Total memorial quilt output: "several hundred decorated sheets packed in boxes at a
storage unit."
Connecticut resident John Michelotti raised $140,000 for his Flag of Honor/Flag of Heroes Project. He used the money to launch a for-profit
company that produces flags printed with the names of 9/11's dead for $5 in China, then sells them for $25 a pop stateside under the guise of
contributing to a "fund to help those that were affected." He hasn't donated any proceeds to charity, yet, but he says he's going to start soon! He
will donate 70 cents from the sale of each flag (pictured above) and keep $19.30 for himself. Oh, and he gave $15,000 charity once. Good for him.
Read more examples at
Gawker.com
Its a shame they don't include those dirtbags phone numbers and home addresses so we can all stop by to let them know how we feel about how they
handled their share of the charity money.
Luckily, it looks like a few prosecutors are looking into these cases so maybe those

will get what's coming to them.
2 states say they are reviewing 9/11 charities
Officials in Arizona and New York have launched investigations into charities that claim to serve 9/11 causes, probing whether they failed to follow
state laws - and may have misspent millions intended to help and honor those affected by the terrorist attacks.
The announcements follow an investigation by The Associated Press last week that uncovered dozens of 9/11 charities across the country that didn't
disclose publicly how they raised and spent money, didn't keep promises to create memorials or contribute to 9/11 causes, or did more to help their
creators than those affected by the terrorist attacks.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office said state lawyers are conducting their own "broad review" of 9/11 charities to make certain that
all documentation for charities related to the 2001 terrorist attacks is in order and that all rules on fundraising and public disclosure are being
followed.
APedit on 8/30/11 by
FortAnthem because:

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