Timmy84 said:

Fixed the link. You can also search by Wyclef Jean Foundation.

Timmy84 said:

sosgemini said:

sosgemini said:

My eyesight is just fine, thanks! I can clearly see that WJF and YH were incorporated individually and therefore are two entirely separate entities!

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

If that's what you see, ummmm okay. But that's not what the documents say. There were never two separate entities. The charity was incorporated as Wyclef Jean Foundation in 3/98 and remained Wyclef Jean Foundation until they legally changed the name to Yele Haiti on 11/6/09.

So, for the last 5 years he was collecting money in the name of Yele but it was ACTUALLY going to Wyclef Jean Foundation hence why the tax returns say Wyclef Jean Foundation DBA Yele Haiti. Now, WHY would he do that? Do most charitable organizations have fronts?

Wait, maybe it's just a coinky dink that he started doing business behind the front Yele Haiti right around the time the state of Florida dissolved the Wyclef Jean Foundation the FIRST time for not providing secret information like an address or listing who the officers were. But what am I thinking, that happens at the Red Cross all the time, doesn't it.

SCNDLS said:

Time will eventually prove somebody right. so I'm just going to wait and see.

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

Wyclef Jean and his charity are two different entities for tax purposes. So his taxes are a different story and not the subject here.

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

Get ready to run up that white flag . . . . .

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

U crazy

Yeah, like I said earlier, as much as I DISLIKE Clef I'm not ready to jump ship on this one just yet.

SUPRMAN said:

You know, somebody told me that very same thing when I said I was going to sit back and watch the black man with the funny name become the 44th President of the United States. Was it you?

SUPRMAN said:

I'm not talking about his personal taxes. The tax documents I posted are for his exempt organization The Wyclef Jean Foundation dba Yele Haiti hence why they're public records, unlike personal income tax docs.

Did anyone actually LOOK at those documents? He incorporated a not-for profit charity called the Wyclef Jean FOUNDATION in 1998. The foundation has been questioned for YEARS about its financial practices and this has been reported in the press before now. The not for profit was repeatedly dissolved for failing to comply with the state of Florida's not for profit rules. THEN he started doing busines as Yele Haiti to circumvent the dissolution, but didn't legally change his foundation's name until FOUR months ago. He was collecting money from people in the name of Yele Haiti, a foundation that did not legally exist, for 5 years. All of it is right there in black and white on the state of Florida's website.

And I don't know what any of this has to do with him being a black man, considering HE was the one who failed to follow the not for profit rules, which are stringent. But his dumb ass was getting in trouble for silly shit like not providing the name of his not for profit's officers and their legal address, in addition, to not providing financial records on time. But hey, if you want to give your money to Yele Haiti go right ahead.
[Edited 3/17/10 8:11am]

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

Prove somebody right??? Ummmmm, I'm posting facts about his organization's ineptitude with supporting documentation, so the last 12 years already told. But again, since *I* didn't give him any of MY money he can spend all the Yele money making it rain in the skripclub for all I care.

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

Not I.

SCNDLS said:

Ineptitude and embezzlement are two very different things.

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

Who said anything about embezzlement? I already said that what he's done could be legal. However, that history of ineptitude, failure to file paperwork, and taxes, is usually indicative of shenanigans. People and organizations usually have sloppy paperwork when they have something to hide. Hence why he's been questioned before.

Legal or not doesn't change the fact that paying yourself and your friends and family large sums of money with donated funds is inappropriate and cause for concern for anyone who has given money to that organization. In one year, his organization took in roughly $1,087,000 ($1 million from Angelina) and he paid himself and companies HE owned over $400k. He could have donated his services to the foundation and written it off, but no, he pocketed 40% of the charity's money that year alone. So basically, they spent $400k to raise $87k.

If you're cool with that, fine. But I can understand why people who have supported him want an explanation.
[Edited 3/17/10 10:00am]

This discussion is making my head hurt.

SCNDLS said:

The title of this thread is "Is Wyclef abusing YELE Haiti funds?". If an operator of a charity is "abusing" funds meant for said charity, that is called "e m b e z z l e m e n t" and it is a "c r i m e". If that operator is also not appropriately filing taxes for said charity, that too is a "c r i m e"!

If what Wyclef has been "alleged" of doing is in fact "l e g a l" in the eyes of the law, then what is the fuss about? Alarming potential donors so that they may perhaps choose not to donate to his "questionable" charity that has somehow managed in spite of any "ineptitude" to have been operating for years and also doing some good things, in favor of a say more "trustworthy" one?

As I said before, time will indeed eventually tell the tale on this and I am choosing to wait and see!

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

Abuse does not mean embezzlement, that's YOUR interpretation. You can abuse or take advantage of a situation for your own financial gain without technically breaking any laws. And anyone involved with a not for profit should be sensitive to avoid doing anything that smells of conflict of interest. Paying yourself and your companies $400k in a year that you legitimitately only raised $87k is definitely abuse no matter how you want to slice it.

The fact remains that his charity was dissolved for almost half of the 12 years it's been in operation for bad financial practices. He shouldn't have even been collecting donations while dissolved. But he was under the name Yele Haiti. That's not alleged, that is FACT, which for some reason you want to ignore. And that is not the media's doing, that's his fault and mismanagement. These are not new allegations. Although I'm sure he's done SOME good, I bet he coulda done a WHOLE lot more with an extra $400k.
[Edited 3/17/10 17:34pm]

SCNDLS said:

How in the hell is that MY "interpretation" when the very textbook definition of embezzlement is:





Wyclef has either done something WRONG that he SHOULDN'T have done or he HASN'T! The last time I checked "ineptitude" was not a crime and seemingly not a problem or else there'd be a former Administration doing some hard ass time!

How much are other orgs paying people?

I think the media ia only putting Wyclef's organization under the scope to get everybody to donate to Red Cross. And Red Cross is just as suspect cause we don't even know what all they do with the millions they raise. They raised 3 billion to aid the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami, but they still holding on 500 million of it.

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

Still funny and STILL ignoring a whole bunch of what I'm saying but okay.
[Edited 3/17/10 19:49pm]

Graycap23 said:

I don't think it's so much about people's salaries but moreso about using the organization's funds to pay himself for performances, pay his personal expenses, AND hire his own companies to do work. ALL those things are conflicts of interest that put money directly into HIS pockets as personal earnings rather than into aid for Haitians. It may not be illegal on its face but it's definitely crooked. Especially since he could have volunteered his time and expenses and wrote it off on his personal taxes without charging the charity.

If the head of the Red Cross, paid his brother $400k to provide a service, he may not be charged with embezzlement but he'd definitely be fired. The dude who runs Yele Haiti is Wyclef's bass player and at one time all of the board embers were his relatives and they were all on the payroll.

SCNDLS said:

Did he give those positions to them INSTEAD of the more "qualified" people that were just lining up to help the people of Haiti BEFORE the earthquake? I ask because WHOMEVER had those positions would have been on the payroll, right?

Prospect said:

BINGO!

Prospect said:

Do think there are only two options for aiding Haiti?

Wyclef Jean hires a new accountant
By Aaron Smith, CNNMoney.com staff writerJanuary 22, 2010: 2:48 PM ET


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Yele Haiti, the non-profit formed by musician Wyclef Jean, said Friday that it hired an accounting firm in the wake of increased public scrutiny of its finances.

The organization's board of directors said that the firm RSM McGladrey will help the group set up a new bank account for its Haitian earthquake fund.

The announcement came days after Jean tearfully denied allegations that he misappropriated funds from his charity. The accusations emerged after the Haitian native returned to the U.S. following several days of relief work in Port-au-Prince in the wake of the recent earthquake.

The allegations stemmed from payments made by Yele Haiti toward businesses owned by Jean and another board member -- including a production company and recording studio. The non-profit also failed to file taxes for three years.

Hugh Locke, president of Yele Haiti, described the failure to file as a "mistake." The organization eventually caught up with its taxes, according to documents filed by Yele Haiti.

Tax experts told CNNMoney.com that the organization did not break any rules in paying businesses owned by board members for services, so long as it was not being overcharged.

Jesse Derris, a spokesman for Yele Haiti, said the non-profit will continue to use Grant Thorton LLP to assist with tax services.

The non-profit employed Grant Thorton in 2009 to help catch up with its filings.

http://money.cnn.com/2010...onal+News)


Okay so what he hired a new accountant? The accountant still works for Wyclef which doesn't make a difference because the abuse of funds could still take place. Where there is smoke there is fire.

Countthedays said:

If the IRS request an audit again, it better look good.