Tag: charities

Here’s Why Jennifer Newsom’s Charity Compensation Is Raising Red Flags

Questions surrounding the finances of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife, Jennifer Newsom, continue to draw attention as federal investigators reportedly examine matters connected to the governor’s financial affairs.

During an interview, Katie Pavlich spoke with journalist Josh Boswell about his investigation into Jennifer Newsom’s charity and the financial questions that led him to examine the organization more closely.

“What made you look into Newsom’s wife in the first place, and what did you find?” Pavlich asked.

Boswell said longstanding questions surrounding the Newsoms’ finances prompted his review.

“Well, there are just always a lot of questions that seem to be swirling around the nuisance, and their finances have been for years, and so I thought, you know, this is a man who clearly is going to be running for president. This is worth looking at, you know, what their finances are, what the shape of them are,” Boswell said.

According to Boswell, his review of Jennifer Newsom’s charitable organization revealed compensation levels that stood out compared with similar nonprofits.

“And so when I had a look at Jennifer Newsom’s charity, I found that she was paying herself since 2012 $3.7 million and this is a lot of money when you look at the amount that the charity brings in, it’s sort of one to 1.7 million a year, and she’s paying up to a third of that to herself and her own company $300,000 a year,” Boswell said.

Boswell said he compared the compensation figures to other charities of similar size and found the payments ranked unusually high.

Keep reading

US To Tighten Rule Regarding Nonprofits Paying Excessive Executive Compensation

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of the Treasury issued a notice on Friday, announcing their plan to issue proposed regulation concerning taxation on high compensation paid by tax-exempt organizations to employees.

The notice relates to excessive compensation and excess parachute payments, the IRS said in a June 5 statement. Parachute payments are made to key employees when they are terminated or when the business undergoes a merger or acquisition. An excess parachute payment is any such payment that exceeds three times an employee’s average annual compensation for the most recent five years.

Section 4960 of the Internal Revenue Code imposes an excise tax on any nonprofit or tax-exempt organization paying an employee more than $1 million in remuneration in a tax year or an excess parachute payment, according to the notice.

The new rule changes tax applicability regarding excessive compensation.

Prior to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, taxes on such payments were applicable to a tax-exempt organization’s five highest-compensated employees for a tax year whose compensation exceeded $1 million.

But under the new rule, the excise tax is applicable to any employee whose compensation exceeds $1 million in a tax year beginning after Dec. 31, 2025. The requirement of being among the five-highest compensated employees has been eliminated.

The rule is also applicable to any former employee who was a top-five compensated employee exceeding $1 million for any tax year between Dec. 31, 2016, and Dec. 31, 2025.

There is no change to taxation on parachute payments. Such payments will continue attracting taxes as per existing rules.

The updates also provide certain exceptions regarding people offering volunteer services to tax-exempt organizations.

IRS Chief Executive Officer Frank J. Bisignano said the latest rule “strengthens the accountability of tax-exempt organizations.” The regulation “broadens the scope of tax from a limited group of executives to potentially any highly compensated employee.”

The Treasury and the IRS are inviting public comments on the notice until Aug. 4.

The notice comes after the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) recently raised concerns about the implementation of the new regulations.

Keep reading

MASSIVE EBT & CHARITY FRAUD EXPOSED: Dominican Immigrants in Lawrence, Massachusetts Buying Food with Your Taxpayer-Funded Stamps and Free Charity Donations, Then Shipping It Overseas to Sell for Profit in Santo Domingo Bodegas

Independent investigator Muckraker has blown the lid off a sophisticated, long-running Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) and charity fraud operation in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

Dominican immigrants have been openly buying groceries with food stamps (EBT/SNAP cards) or taking free food from charities and food banks, loading it into shipping barrels, and sending it straight to the Dominican Republic — where it gets resold for profit in local bodegas. The pipeline runs from Massachusetts corner stores, through shipping hubs in New York, all the way to Santo Domingo.

According to the Muckraker Foundation:

Lawrence, Massachusetts

Lawrence is a small city about 30 miles north of Boston. It has the highest concentration of Dominican immigrants of any city in Massachusetts, and the highest rate of SNAP enrollment in the state.

John has been delivering goods in Lawrence for over 11 years, six days a week, 35 stops a day. He knows the community intimately.

“I’ve been witnessing the Dominican residents going to food bank lines and collecting non-perishable goods,” he told us, “and then packing it in barrels and in boxes, and then they ship it back to the Dominican Republic.”

We asked him how he knew the food was being purchased with food stamps.

“Some of them have openly told me and my wife that that’s what they’re doing,” he said. “And then the other way is the math.”

The math is straightforward. A 50-pound bag of rice costs $30 in Lawrence. That same bag costs $35 in the Dominican Republic. Add shipping, and the economics make no sense unless the food was free or paid for with government benefits.

John drove us through the streets of Lawrence and showed us the evidence hiding in plain sight: blue shipping barrels, stacked outside corner stores, for sale. Not one store. Not two. Store after store after store.

“These barrels aren’t trash cans,” John said. “They’re being used to ship the product.”

Every one of those stores also advertised, prominently, that they accept EBT.

Abigail has worked in Lawrence since 2011. She asked us not to disclose her profession, but her job takes her inside people’s homes on a daily basis.

“Many of them will have large boxes, large bins in their apartments full of the food that they give out at the pantries here,” she told us. “And when I ask them what it’s for, they say they mail it back so it can either be given to their families there or be sold in the bodegas there.”

We asked if these patients knew they were doing something wrong.

“No,” she said, and laughed quietly. “They feel entitled. They feel like that’s what we come here for.”

We asked how widespread she believed the fraud to be among the patients she visits.

“About half,” she said. “Half the people I see.”

Keep reading

German Gov’t Handed Out Millions to Charity Allegedly Tied to Muslim Brotherhood: Reports

Millions in taxpayer cash were directed towards an Islamic organisation with alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood by the German government, reports have revealed.

According to reports from Berlin’s Federal Audit Office, obtained by paper of record Die Welt, Germany’s Federal Foreign Office (AA) gave Islamic Relief Germany (IRD) nearly 8.5 million euros ($9.9m) between 2013 and 2016 and millions more on top of that.

This is despite the group’s parent organisation, Islamic Relief Worldwide, having been classified as a terror group in 2014 by Israel, which accused the group of having funnelled money to Palestinian Hamas terrorists, a charge the supposed charity denies. A 2009 report from Germany’s Baden-Württemberg Office for the Protection of the Constitution also accused the group of being tied to the radical Muslim Brotherhood, which seeks to impose Sharia on the world.

A later 2019 government report found that the IRD had “significant personnel connections to the Muslim Brotherhood or organisations close to it,” following which the Foreign Office ceased funding the group.

The reports from the Federal Audit Office concerning the grants provided by the German government to IRD were classified and withheld from the public for over five years, with the government arguing that the release of the information could “lead to polemics” and would risk public discourse that would not be “conducive to the welfare of the federal government.”

However, the findings were finally disclosed following a lengthy lawsuit from attorney Seyran Ateş and the Institute for Secular Law. According to Die Welt, the first report found that the Foreign Office was “unable to explain on what basis” it had decided that Islamic Relief Germany was a reputable charity and worthy of millions in government grants.

Keep reading

RAPE AND TORTURE: Prince Harry Under Pressure to Quit African Parks Charity After Allegation of Horrific Abuse Against Indigenous Populations

Harry has said that he was ‘born to be an activist’ – but was he?

By now, we are all used to seeing the prodigal son of Britain’s King Charles III involved in ugly controversies related to his work in African charities.

Recently, his resignation from Sentebale, a charity that he co-founded with the Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, was splashed in the world’s headlines after Chairwoman Sophie Chandauka accused him of bullying and harassment.

Chandauka went as far as suing him for libel.

But all this pales in a sense, compared to the problems involving the ‘African Parks’ charity he presided until two years ago.

We have been reporting on this story since back in April 2024, as you can read in Prince Harry’s Charity in Africa Accused of Widespread Torture and Rape.

Yes, you read it right: ‘African Parks’ rangers protected animals by raping and torturing local tribes.

Keep reading

Bessent Signals Crackdown On Dark-Money Funded NGOs In “Weeks, Months Ahead”

Last year, readers were briefed on what was then the investigative phase into dark-money-funded NGOs and alleged foreign influence operations routed through far-left activist networks. These NGOs and activist networks advance anti-capitalist agendas, mobilize protests and riots to fuel unrest under the banner of toxic social justice, and have also served as a permanent protest-industrial complex designed to delay, deny, and destroy President Trump’s pro-America agenda.

Fast forward to late spring, and there now appears to be a clear transition inside parts of the Trump administration from the investigative phase to the action phase.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signaled just that during a Thursday press briefing.

Here, the exchange between a reporter and Bessent suggests the potential enforcement phase has already begun:

Reporter: “I want to ask you about Antifa. In October, the Treasury Department started working with the FBI to investigate who’s funding Antifa. Can you give us an update on that investigation? How close are you guys finding out who is funding it?”

Scott Bessent: “It is ongoing. We made substantial progress, and I think in the weeks and months ahead, we are going to have a lot to report“”

(Bessent continues on IRS guidance for nonprofits): “The IRS is now giving guidance on the Form 990, which nonprofits they have to file. We are going to demand that nonprofits know their grant recipients. So if a grant recipient is violent, if they are suppressing people’s rights, then YOU are responsible for that. And I think that’s a very good first step.”

Keep reading

Annoying jingle permanently banned from airwaves as California ends ‘strategy of deception’

California is pulling the plug on the wildly recognizable Kars4Kids jingle after a judge ruled the charity’s ads misled donors about who actually benefits from their money.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Gassia Apkarian found that the organization violated California false advertising and unfair competition laws by failing to disclose that donations primarily fund Orthodox Jewish programs tied to Oorah Inc., a New York- and New Jersey-based outreach organization.

The ruling was published May 8 and comes after California resident Bruce Puterbaugh sued the charity in 2021, claiming he donated his car after repeatedly hearing the famous ad and believed the proceeds would help underprivileged children in California.

Instead, Puterbaugh learned the $250 generated from his donated vehicle went to programs connected to Oorah, which focuses on Jewish heritage camps and religious outreach.

According to the ruling, Kars4Kids chief operating officer Esti Landau testified that the charity’s “primary function” is funding Oorah’s programs.

Landau also testified that although about 25% of Kars4Kids’ revenue comes from California, the organization has virtually no meaningful programs benefiting children in the state beyond a backpack drive described in court as a “branding exercise.”

Keep reading

Alabama AG Announces Civil Investigation into Southern Poverty Law Center Alleging Deceptive Fundraising Practices Under State’s Consumer Protection Statutes

In April, the Justice Department indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on 11 counts, including wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering.

The SPLC was indicted for secretly funneling more than $3 million in funds to members of white supremacist and extremist groups, the DOJ said.

A grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama returned an 11-count indictment against the SPLC.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the grand jury indicted the SPLC on 6 counts of wire fraud, four counts of bank fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Now, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has announced a civil investigation into the organization, alleging deceptive fundraising practices under the State’s consumer protection statutes.

Keep reading

Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Name Pops Up MULTIPLE Times in $250 MILLION Feeding Our Future Fraud Emails – Including One Titled “Ilhan’s Office” – But the Radical Squad Member REFUSES to Turn Over Documents to Minnesota Investigators

Fresh court exhibits from the massive $250 MILLION Feeding Our Future fraud trial have revealed that Rep. Ilhan Omar’s name appeared MULTIPLE times in email chains and text messages with convicted fraudster Aimee Bock, the mastermind behind the largest COVID-era fraud scheme targeting children’s nutrition programs.

According to trial exhibits unsealed in Aimee Bock’s case, Omar’s office was directly involved in communications with the fraud ring.

According to resurfaced trial exhibits from Bock’s 2025 conviction on wire fraud, conspiracy, and bribery charges, one email chain between Bock and Omar’s office was literally titled “Ilhan’s Office.”

Another email from February 2021 carried the subject line “help with USDA food program,” right in the middle of the massive scam that funneled hundreds of millions in federal pandemic funds to fake meal sites, luxury cars, jewelry, and overseas real estate, according to the New York Post.

Text messages recovered during a raid of Bock’s Minnesota home also show direct communication between the fraudster and Omar’s congressional staff.

More from the Post:

A few days after Bock’s email to Omar, on Feb. 28, Bock exchanged messages with Abdikerm Eidleh, a Feeding Our Future employee who fled the country after he was indicted in 2022. The subject line of their emails was “Ilhan’s Office,” according to the court documents.

While the list of exhibits is public, the contents have been sealed by the court.

The exhibits also include a text message string between Bock and Omar, which was uncovered during a raid of Bock’s Minnesota house, records show.

Bock has been leaking documents from behind bars through her college-age son ahead of her sentencing to try to shift some of the blame to elected officials, Minnesota federal prosecutors have alleged.

It’s unclear if those leaked documents were related to Omar.

Keep reading

Minnesota nonprofit accused of siphoning $6.5M to fund Vegas trips, luxury cars, private liquor store

The head of a Minnesota nonprofit allegedly siphoned off more than $6 million in taxpayer funds to treat himself to such lavish goodies as trips to Vegas, luxury rides and shopping sprees at Harley Davidson.

Trahern Pollard, founder and now-former director of the nonprofit We Push For Peace, was supposed to be leading his organization in providing “conflict de-escalation’’ work after George Floyd’s murder — an effort fueled by millions of dollars in government contracts, according to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison in a new lawsuit against the group.

Instead, Pollard diverted more than $6 million of the dough to fund a well-heeled lifestyle for himself — not to mention to pay off child support, settle a tax bill with the IRS and subsidize his private businesses, including a liquor store and a used-car dealership, authorities said.

Pollard’s fellow former director, Jaclyn McGuigan, also was nailed in the alleged scheme.

Keep reading