Wyclef Jean's $100K Performance Fee Too Expensive For Fundraiser, Reports Gawker

A planned fundraiser for Wyclef Jean's charity in 2006 was canceled in part because Jean's personal $100,000 performance fee made the event too expensive, according to internal e-mails and a source familiar with the event.

Read the whole story

Comments

[Talulazoeapple]

08:06 PM on 01/23/2010

People who think that these "stories" about Wyclef Jean are "fair-and balanced" are naive. The guy who started all of this, lobbies for big-business and big charities. They WANT YOUR MONEY, for their expensive board members. Its all about control and Wyclef threatened their charity stronghold.

I have seem many documentaries on Wyclef and Yele's work in Haiti. I donated only to Yele and one other charity based in Haiti. I will continue to do so.

Peace!

[rugby john]

06:15 AM on 01/24/2010

Did you read the article and letter from Hugh Locke?

Wyclef's dealings with the charity have been improper in the past, and now he has millions of dollars[including your money] to mishandle.

It's party time at the Yele Haiti camp.

[mlr710]

10:29 AM on 01/26/2010

Thank you!

[ohnoforgotmyusername]

03:55 PM on 01/23/2010

today from AP

After 'mistakes,' Yele Haiti gets new accountants

LOSANGELES (AP) -- The foundation of Wyclef Jean said Friday it has hired a new accounting firm after the Haitian-born rapper acknowledged the organization had made mistakes.

The announcement came hours before Jean was to headline a globally broadcast concert called "Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief," in which donations would flow through to charities including his own.

The foundation said that any funds it receives related to the Haiti earthquake will be used solely to help earthquake victims, while funds to pay for overhead will be raised separately.

According to an IRS tax return from 2006, the Yele Haiti foundation paid $250,000 to buy airtime from Telemax S.A., a for-profit TV station in Haiti that is majority owned by Jean and business partner Jerry Duplessis, who is also on the foundation board.

Part of that money went to pay for a concert in Haiti put on by Jean himself, said foundation president Hugh Locke.

Another $160,000 that year was spent on a concert in Monte Carlo that Jean participated in, of which $75,000 paid for backup singers and $25,000 went to Jean through Platinum Sound Recording Studios Inc., a company he owns with Duplessis, Locke said.

Yele Haiti took in $1.1 million in total revenue that year.

Alvin Brown, a tax lawyer who runs the site IRSTaxAttorney.com, said such transactions were "scary" and "could be viewed as fraud."

[ohnoforgotmyusername]

09:27 AM on 01/23/2010

Because of the truth coming out about Wyclef's skimming in Gawker's very well researched investigative series , Yele has been forced to take on new accountants and new board members who are attorneys (and not cronies) and announce that 100% of money raised thru texting and the telethon and such will go directly to haitian non profits.

They will also have to raise money separately to pay for yeles overhead and costs.

So no longer will jean be able to use charitiy monies raised by Yele for his own private business expenses or be paid for making appearances at "charity' events.
----

from saturdays wash post:

On Friday, the charity appointed a new accountant, RSM McGladrey, to oversee the collection and distribution of earthquake funds donated to Yele Haiti. Jesse Derris, a publicist for the charity, said all money donated will go to help Haitians survive, dig out and rebuild. He said separate donations are being solicited to pay for the charity's overhead.

Hugh Locke, president of Yele Haiti, said in an interview Friday that the charity will no longer permit transactions with businesses in which board members have a personal stake.

----------

(this means no more skimming or rent payments or "business expenses" or chartered jets, or hired limos or jean and his sister making $100,000 for a "charity" benefit put on for Yele itself - (which was a disgrace)”

[Talulazoeapple]

08:00 PM on 01/23/2010

You are quite the internet troll. Question, exactly what have you done for Haiti? *crickets*

[Cloud30]

10:37 PM on 01/23/2010

Dude...keep using Gawker as a source and people will continue to laugh at you

[ohnoforgotmyusername]

03:49 AM on 01/23/2010

The guy is a cad. Which doesn't make him a worse human being than the rest of us, it's just that the rest of us don't try to come off as a Haitian Jesus. $100k, really Jean? Is that all you want, 2/3 of the amount desired to open a school.

[Cloud30]

03:54 AM on 01/23/2010

So you're telling me music equipment, back up singers, and all the production usually costs less than $100,000? It's that cheap? Wow...I should start throwing benefit concerts too

Like I said I've read their story and their slanting it to try to paint Wyclef as some kind of inhumane criminal. Not only that...but it hasn't even been responded to or addressed..and gawker is a gossip site that's made baseless charges/smears before so..no surprise there

Come back when you report the other side...which is Wyclef's good work for Haiti. Thanks :)

[djd099]

06:46 AM on 01/23/2010

You're talking about reporting the other side of a guy that wanted to keep 2/3 of donations for himself instead of Haiti? What is the other side of that? Yeah, some money went to Haiti, which is great. But wouldn't the donated money been better off in the hands of a charity that would donate a much higher percentage to the intended cause?

Wyclef IS an inhumane criminal. IMO he's akin to an old school Gangster who robs the community and then gives away turkeys on Thanksgiving. The only difference in this case is that Wyclef has convinced people like you to give up their money willingly.

[ohnoforgotmyusername]

09:14 AM on 01/23/2010

eh...yeah...if you read the article, youd see that Jean himself estimated the expenses and this includes travel, hotel and payment to the band would cost $15,00 - the other $100,00 would strictly be for him.

Theres even more in the contract proposal about getting more money to Wyclef, but lets just marvel for now at the gall and the greed of his asking to be paid far over twice his regular rate...if not multiples of that...to play a charity event meant to raise mo0ney to build a school. And when that fee couldnt be arranged, Jean didnt offer to pay for free (like 100% of other musicians would have) instead he had the event cancelled.

[skyslimit]

03:29 AM on 01/23/2010

if just one celebrity or other rich person in the world donated EVERYTHING they had to the poor and destitute, I believe that one action could change the collective consciousness of the entire world. Who knows, maybe it will be me some day?

[skyslimit]

03:28 AM on 01/23/2010

tacky

[MissVirginiaVoter]

02:28 AM on 01/23/2010

If I could give HP a good swift kcik in the arse I would@!

[ohnoforgotmyusername]

03:24 AM on 01/23/2010

I surely dont want to start a fuss with such a lovely Tidewater Dem, but, you really should go read John Hall's 4 part series at Gawker on this. Its very good investigative journalism and tells the sad truth of how Jean used Yele to pay his business expenses over the years. Read it and then judge who deserves a kick in the pants.

This is a link to the most important article. Wyclef Jean: Give the Millions You've Raised to Those Who Can Help Haiti Now

http://gawker.com/5453141/wyclef-jean-give-the-millions-youve-raised-to-those-who-can-help-haiti-now

I love haiti, been there twice and will go back soon as i can be of help. The people of that country are so poor! the average income is $200 US a year. Jean took at least $650,000 out of the charity to pay his own expenses over just two years, That amount could have employed 2,000 haitians for that time.

Today it was announced that Yele will no longer allow these kind of payments and that 1000% of monies raise will go directly to Haiti. They also said that they will raise money separately to pay Yeles expenses. this is the way that this group should have been run from the start.

Hopefully, this will be the last of these problems, but please dont blame the messenger her, Jean did wrong - and though its forgivable - its only made worse when its falsely denied.

[Cloud30]

03:31 AM on 01/23/2010

Lol at this guy posting an article suggesting we give money elsewhere. How convenient

You have a problem with the facts don't you? And even worse..you say "this is the way that group should have been run from the start"

Really? So other organizations do the same thing? They don't use funds for staff expenses, etc.? Wow...okay

Btw if you ever meet the President of Red Cross, the President of the United Way, and others....you know the same ones making hundreds of thousands...let me know :)

[Cloud30]

01:15 AM on 01/23/2010

This is what gawker does...look at their "practical joke" against Obama early in his campaign:

http://gawker.com/361031/breaking-obama-responds-to-turban-smear#comments
:

[MizFlagPin]

12:32 AM on 01/23/2010

Text Yele to 501501.

[Katco]

01:14 PM on 01/23/2010

Done

[Talulazoeapple]

08:13 PM on 01/23/2010

I just texted again!!!! Yele!!!

[MissVirginiaVoter]

12:19 AM on 01/23/2010

HP gets a HUGE BIG BOOOOOOOOOOOO for this. Shame on you!

[Katco]

01:14 PM on 01/23/2010

X2

[GBO]

12:13 AM on 01/23/2010

HP shld stop spreading this junk....

[MissVirginiaVoter]

12:20 AM on 01/23/2010

x2

[Cloud30]

03:38 AM on 01/23/2010

x3

[Cloud30]

12:09 AM on 01/23/2010

Wow...I'm sorry but this is suspicious. CNN Money among others have stated they didn't see much wrong with his tax records...and yet Gawker and the Smoking Gun have been in full smear mode this entire time. This is obviously a hit job....and the sad part is because they keep throwing out cheap shots people will begin to perceive Wyclef negatively

They're making some donate to Yele on purpose

[ohnoforgotmyusername]

03:26 AM on 01/23/2010

bull. its very clear now that Jean treated Yele as a ATM to pay for his business expenses. Because of this yele will no longer spend any money raised thru the testing or the fundraiser on any Yele expenses whatsoever. they have said they will raise seperately for those costs and will no longer pay money out to boardmembers (ie Wyclef jean)

[Cloud30]

03:36 AM on 01/23/2010

Lmao

Dude we've been over this. You're obviously bad at math...you're obviously unfamiliar with expenses...and you're obviously willing to ignore Yele and Wyclef's track record

You're also willing to ignore the fact that his tax records has been looked over by CNN Money among others and they found little wrong except lazy paper work

The entire premise of this story is allegedly another organization wanted Yele to Co-Sponsor a fundraiser but couldn't afford Wyclef and his production...however the Smear gossip Gawkers are slanting it to imply that it was his OWN fundraiser that they're talking about. Even if this was true, it's being slanted as wrong doing when it isn't...but we know you're out to sabotage Wyclef so I'm not surprised

[Andrea Torres]

11:51 PM on 01/22/2010

if there are even the slightest suspicions over one's charity then tell people to donate to the red cross. he shouldn't care where the donations go as long as they get to the people in haiti. I don't trust the guy, just something seems wrong.

[Cloud30]

12:04 AM on 01/23/2010

You trust the red cross? lol

[MissVirginiaVoter]

12:20 AM on 01/23/2010

He didn't do anything WRONG! YELE Haiti is fine!

[ohnoforgotmyusername]

03:28 AM on 01/23/2010

read the Gawker pieces and then say that.

[ByersL]

11:33 PM on 01/22/2010

I believe Mr. Jean. Honestly, some people will go to any lengths to disparage a man who supports poor people.

[ohnoforgotmyusername]

03:29 AM on 01/23/2010

bullshite.

Everyone trying to help the people of haiti are trying to help poor people.

But youre defending a man who took hundreds of thousands of dollars FROM these same poor people - why doesnt that upset you?

[Cloud30]

03:45 AM on 01/23/2010

He took money from poor people in your fabricated mind and in the mind of the Gossip Smear site Gawker

[Haitians4Obama]

09:14 PM on 01/22/2010

Donate to Yele.

Yele has been on the ground for years. Wyclef has done so much for Haiti and motivated many Haitians to do more...and more importantly: HAITIANS TRUST HIM.

[Andrea Torres]

11:52 PM on 01/22/2010

haitians also believe in witch doctors. so your point being??

[Cloud30]

12:18 AM on 01/23/2010

You're stereotyping an entire group of people

[MissVirginiaVoter]

12:22 AM on 01/23/2010

Andrea.......shame on you

[ohnoforgotmyusername]

09:35 AM on 01/23/2010

You are obviously a huge fan of his who wants his organization to be seen in a less critical way. I can relate since I am from NJ and if there is ever an earthquake there, I only want Springsteen or Bon Jovi to lead the relief efforts. Nobody knows search and rescue and disaster response like a famous musician with local roots...

[Haitians4Obama]

01:38 PM on 01/23/2010

Please!! He's a humanitarian. Fine don't believe me, donate to the redcross then. But I doubt that u will.