AG: Israeli Aid Never Reaches Recipients

by Gary Snyder

The 19 charities all had buzzwords in their names intended to appeal to Jews eager to help Israel — including Hatzalah, a reference to the volunteer ambulance service primarily serving Jewish communities, and Zaka, a reference to the organization that assists victims of terrorist attacks.

But Eric T. Schneiderman, the attorney general of New York State, charged that the operators of the charities “brazenly abused the generosity of the public” by withdrawing more than $2.5 million for their personal and family expenses from 2007 to 2013. He said the expenses included home mortgages, the remodeling of a second home, car loans, dentist visits, video rentals and a trip to the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City.

Only a small amount of the donated money actually wound up in Israel. The defendants even bounced at least 2,100 checks, and wasted $65,000 of charitable donations in overdraft fees, the attorney general charged. (source)

Among the organizations named in the lawsuit are Hatzalah Rescue of Israel, Bnei Torah, the Israel Leukemia and Cancer Society and Zaka Israel. Only 2 of the 19 entities were even registered in Israel. Others did not file tax returns that protected their tax-exempt status, Mr. Schneiderman said.

The organizations solicited money by mail, telephone and the Internet, often falsely telling donors that they had failed to follow up on a pledge or that they had previously donated to the charity, the complaint said. The name of an organization like Magen Israel played off the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross. The solicitations also used “doctored photographs” of workers and equipment belonging to actual Israeli emergency organizations, the complaint said.

Nonprofit Imperative gathers its information principally from public documents...some of which are directly quoted. Virtually all cited are in some phase of criminal proceedings; some have not been charged, however. Cites in various media: Featured in print, broadcast, and online media outlets, including: Vermont Public Radio, Miami Herald, National Public Radio, Huffington Post, The Sun News, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Wall Street Journal (Profile, News and Photos), FOX2, ABC Spotlight on the News, WWJ Radio, Ethics World, Aspen Philanthropy Newsletter, Harvard Business Review, Current Affairs, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, St. Petersburg Times, B, USA Today Topics, Newsweek.com, Responsive Philanthropy Magazine, New York Times...and many more Nonprofits: On the Brink (2006) Silence: The Impending Threat to the Charitable Sector (2011)

Rob Peter To Pay Paul Method of Embezzelments

by Gary Snyder

I am never surprised by the ingenuity of thieves.

Here is the latest wrinkle.

A former bookkeeper, in San Diego, who embezzled more than $545,000 from the Leucadia Pizzeria chain pleaded guilty to felony charges.

Why did she steal? She took the money to pay back a previous employer after she got caught and who had sued her for embezzlement

And then there is the former Colorado State University student who pleaded guilty to stealing money from a nonprofit he worked for to fund a lavish lifestyle is back in trouble a year after being sentenced. His has a long history of stealing money from groups he worked for. He agreed to repay the money. He did that, prosecutors said, by stealing money from the the very place he was paying back.

Nonprofit Imperative gathers its information principally from public documents...some of which are directly quoted. Virtually all cited are in some phase of criminal proceedings; some have not been charged, however. Cites in various media: Featured in print, broadcast, and online media outlets, including: Vermont Public Radio, Miami Herald, National Public Radio, Huffington Post, The Sun News, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Wall Street Journal (Profile, News and Photos), FOX2, ABC Spotlight on the News, WWJ Radio, Ethics World, Aspen Philanthropy Newsletter, Harvard Business Review, Current Affairs, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, St. Petersburg Times, B, USA Today Topics, Newsweek.com, Responsive Philanthropy Magazine, New York Times...and many more Nonprofits: On the Brink (2006) Silence: The Impending Threat to the Charitable Sector (2011)

Serial Thief Takes Money From Each of His Nonprofit Employers

by Gary Snyder

He pleaded guilty to stealing money from nonprofits he worked for to fund a lavish lifestyle including massages and expensive dinners he otherwise couldn’t have afforded.

He earned the right to live outside of the structured community corrections facility but was still under regular supervision, but was then accused of committing violations includes missing curfew, skipping scheduled appointments and testing positive for drug use.

He had a long history of stealing money from groups he worked for.

When he was caught stealing previously he agreed to repay the money. He did that, prosecutors said, by stealing money from his current place of employment.

At sentencing, he hoped to lessen his sentence by offering to counsel nonprofits on how to prevent such thefts.

At the time of his original arrest, he was director of finance for the Associated Students of Colorado State University. He stepped down from the post following his arrest and was expelled from CSU.

Nonprofit Imperative gathers its information principally from public documents...some of which are directly quoted. Virtually all cited are in some phase of criminal proceedings; some have not been charged, however. Cites in various media: Featured in print, broadcast, and online media outlets, including: Vermont Public Radio, Miami Herald, National Public Radio, Huffington Post, The Sun News, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Wall Street Journal (Profile, News and Photos), FOX2, ABC Spotlight on the News, WWJ Radio, Ethics World, Aspen Philanthropy Newsletter, Harvard Business Review, Current Affairs, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, St. Petersburg Times, B, USA Today Topics, Newsweek.com, Responsive Philanthropy Magazine, New York Times...and many more Nonprofits: On the Brink (2006) Silence: The Impending Threat to the Charitable Sector (2011)

N.Y. Council Ignores Charity's Past And Gives It Tons Of Money

by Gary Snyder

The Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, a nonprofit founded by former New York Assemblyman, Vito Lopez, received $421,964 in discretionary funds from the New York City Council 

The funds were awarded despite previous accusations of mismanagement at the nonprofit and despite Lopez’s departure from office in May because of accusations of sexually harassing staff members.

Eight former Lopez staffers, all young women, described his lurid behavior to state investigators. Some were forced to massage his body. The cancer-stricken Lopez allegedly rubbed the thighs of others — and even forced one woman to feel his tumors. 

Some of the alleged acts took place during car trips to and from Albany, Long Island and Atlantic City, which might explain why a special prosecutor left open the possibility that crimes were committed outside of Brooklyn.

In addition, Christiana Fisher, the former $782,000 chief executive of the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of criminal contempt and faces up to six months in prison. Ms. Fisher acknowledged allowing the Brooklyn charity to give a grand jury inaccurate documents that purported to show the council’s board had approved a hefty increase in her pay. She had been involved with the organization since shortly after its incorporation in 1976 by state Assemblyman Vito Lopez but was forced out of her executive position earlier this year.

Nonprofit Imperative gathers its information principally from public documents...some of which are directly quoted. Virtually all cited are in some phase of criminal proceedings; some have not been charged, however. Cites in various media: Featured in print, broadcast, and online media outlets, including: Vermont Public Radio, Miami Herald, National Public Radio, Huffington Post, The Sun News, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Wall Street Journal (Profile, News and Photos), FOX2, ABC Spotlight on the News, WWJ Radio, Ethics World, Aspen Philanthropy Newsletter, Harvard Business Review, Current Affairs, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, St. Petersburg Times, B, USA Today Topics, Newsweek.com, Responsive Philanthropy Magazine, New York Times...and many more Nonprofits: On the Brink (2006) Silence: The Impending Threat to the Charitable Sector (2011)

Money Starting To Flow For SuperStorm Sandy

by Gary Snyder

After calls to release money raised for their benefit as well as the way the money was spent, checks are finally seeping out for this and other storm-related charities.

"It's been an intense seven months," Michael Sinensky, co-founded of Friends of Rockaway after Superstorm Sandy said. "We believe that we'll be working on rebuilding efforts for another two years."

The charity received a check for $720,000 from the Red Cross. The NYC Home Repair Consortium provided another $750,000 for the charity. Altogether, Friends of Rockaway has raised $2.5 million, money that is providing volunteers and professionals to help clean and repair storm ravaged residences in the Rockaways. The group is focusing on mold remediation now and has identified about 90 homes that will benefit from the new funding.

Friends of Rockaway has six full-time employees, and it has hired locals to do much of the work, providing employment to people who lost their jobs after the storm.

Nonprofit Imperative gathers its information principally from public documents...some of which are directly quoted. Virtually all cited are in some phase of criminal proceedings; some have not been charged, however. Cites in various media: Featured in print, broadcast, and online media outlets, including: Vermont Public Radio, Miami Herald, National Public Radio, Huffington Post, The Sun News, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Wall Street Journal (Profile, News and Photos), FOX2, ABC Spotlight on the News, WWJ Radio, Ethics World, Aspen Philanthropy Newsletter, Harvard Business Review, Current Affairs, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, St. Petersburg Times, B, USA Today Topics, Newsweek.com, Responsive Philanthropy Magazine, New York Times...and many more Nonprofits: On the Brink (2006) Silence: The Impending Threat to the Charitable Sector (2011)