Wyclef Jean's Charity, Yele Haiti, Accused Of Squandering Millions In Donations

Wyclef Jean's charity, Yele Haiti, is coming under scrutiny again for squandering millions of dollars in charitable donations.

The New York Post reported that the charity took in $16 million from donors in 2010, but only about a third went to fund emergency efforts. The paper also reported that $1 million went to a Florida company called Amisphere Farm Labor, Inc., that doesn't appear to actually exist. The paper said the address listed for Amisphere is an auto body shop in Miami. The paper also said that Amsterly Pierre, the man who is purportedly Amisphere's owner, bought three properties in Florida, including a waterfront condo in an upscale area.

“The Post conveniently fails to acknowledge that the decisions that Yele made were a response to one of the world’s most catastrophic natural disasters in modern history and required an immediate humanitarian response,” Jean said in a statement. “We made decisions that enabled us to provide emergency assistance in the midst of chaos and we stand by those decisions.”

Jean also noted that he was no longer part of Yele's active leadership. “I have acknowledged that Yele has made mistakes in the past, including being late in IRS filings, but that is old news. When I entered politics last summer, I transitioned from being a board member and chairman of Yele Haiti to a supporter. The new and good news is that Yele under new leadership, despite efforts to undermine its credibility and effectiveness, continues its mission to serve people in need.”

Last year, the ex-Fugees rapper mounted an unsuccessful campaign for Haiti's presidency. That electoral bid was dogged by allegations that Jean took money from Yele for his personal use, which he flatly denied. "Have we made mistakes before? Yes," Jean said in a press conference last year. "Did I ever use Yele money for personal benefits? Absolutely not. Yele's books are open and transparent."

Comments

[Joe Peffer]

02:04 PM on 04/30/2012

How else do you expect him to pay for his Ferraris 360 and his Pogani Zonda C12S? Certainly not his music because its terrible...FACT...When has any celebrity done charity when its not all about there press persona and exploiting people in a dire state for there own profits? Never....

[SeriouslyThink]

09:09 PM on 04/17/2012

I can't stand this guy. Lauren is the real talent - always.

[PaticaDeGato]

05:07 PM on 04/17/2012

The fact that this guy wanted to become president of Haiti was already suspicious. And now, lookit, the donations are missing. If it looks like a crook, and walks like a crook, and acts like a crook......

[mark1966]

03:49 PM on 11/30/2011

no kidding,people didnt see that coming when they donated did you.what a shame

[Reikoku Jaken]

03:09 PM on 11/30/2011

Here's a clue folks. Non-Profits are a scam almost each and every time. Think of it this way. When someone makes a donor financed salary on of helping the needy you run into some immediate issues. Salaries tend to go up rather than down, in a slow donation year they eat up a fixed amount of charity capital, and so on...and so forth.

[Bill Pilgrim]

10:43 AM on 11/30/2011

He's Not alone...Bono's anti-poverty foundation ONE is under pressure to explain its finances after it was revealed that only a small percentage of money it raises reaches the needy.
The non-profit organisation set up by the U2 frontman received almost £9.6million in donations in 2008 but handed out only £118,000 to good causes (1.2 per cent).
The figures published by the New York Post also show that £5.1million went towards paying salaries.

[Joe Peffer]

02:07 PM on 04/30/2012

Thats because BONO and U2 are full of it.. Nobody realizes this but there terribly fake..Musicians and humanitarians..I saw them live in Sydney, I was hardly impressed and he had the nerve to bring up kids on the stage and sing about "saving the children"..Pathetic..

[LadyPecan]

07:17 PM on 08/09/2012

The only one I support is Sean Penn and that's because he gave up his celebrity lifestyle to live along side Haitians for the last 3 years on a daily to make sure they are fed, clothed, educated and have proper housing...

[Heat2Hot]

08:54 AM on 11/30/2011

I don't understand why Wyclef won't produce documents to substantiate his claims of innocence. He should have receipts and invoices that match the amount of money donated. Either he has it or he doesn't - come clean NOW.

[naftalynn]

05:07 PM on 11/30/2011

He did produce documents to sustain his claim, they were used against him. Wyclef is the one who revealed in his tax report that the construction company used to build the orphanage and toilet systems was owned by his own brother in law. He did not hide anything from the public. The contractors hired by Yele, whether related to him or not, did provide a legitimate service.
Yele's former president defends the decisions they took:
http://www­.showbiz41­1.com/2011­/11/28/exc­lusive-yel­e-haiti-fo­rmer-chief­-responds-­to-ny-post­-breaks-ou­t-numbers

The problem is that so far, mainstream media has only published snippets of Yele's defense.

[Pakuo]

05:32 AM on 12/01/2011

i take the main street media with a grain of salt, especially with minority reports. the u.s. was to have given the nation lots of money to buy resources but the people are still living in tents and have no sanitation systems.

[executees]

09:52 PM on 11/29/2011

Wow!!!

[NOIDEOLOGUE]

05:25 PM on 11/29/2011

Look at him. He looks like a crook.

[Lisa1129]

03:54 PM on 11/29/2011

Did anyone check his bank account?

[TdeyoMN]

09:38 AM on 11/29/2011

I'm glad I trusted the American Red Cross for my donation, at least I know 10% of that went to the rescue mission...smh

[Bill Pilgrim]

10:41 AM on 11/30/2011

As you open your pockets for the next natural disaster, please keep these facts in mind:


• The American Red Cross President and CEO Marsha J. Evans salary for the year was $651,957 plus expenses


• The United Way President Brian Gallagher receives a $375,000 base salary along with numerous expense benefits.


• UNICEF CEO Caryl M. Stern receives $1,200,000 per year (100k per month) plus all expenses including a ROLLS ROYCE . Less than 5 cents of your donated dollar goes to the cause.

GO "GREEN" INSTEAD AND PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE IT WILL DO SOME GOOD:

• The Salvation Army's Commissioner Todd Bassett receives a small salary of only $13,000 per year (plus housing) for managing this $2 billion dollar organization. 96 percent of donated dollars go to the cause.


• The American Legion National Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary. Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth!


• The Veterans of Foreign Wars National Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary. Your donations go to help Veterans and their
families and youth!


• The Disabled American Veterans National Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary. Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth!


• The Military Order of Purple Hearts National Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary. Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth!


• The Vietnam Veterans Association National Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary.

[TdeyoMN]

12:30 PM on 11/30/2011

Copied and pasted...Thanks for the advice! Pardon my assumption, but are you of any relation to the military?

[VByers]

01:31 PM on 10/13/2012

According to snopes.com, this charitable compensation comparison surfaced via email circa 2005. Please read: http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/charities.asp.

[sargentbowen]

08:29 AM on 11/29/2011

Who couldn't see this coming

[naftalynn]

11:53 PM on 11/28/2011

Wyclef didn't squander any money. The nypost just needed to sell some papers. Yele's former president defends the decisions they took:
http://www.showbiz411.com/2011/11/28/exclusive-yele-haiti-former-chief-responds-to-ny-post-breaks-out-numbers

The properties bought by his contractor were notarized before the earthquake and the deals were finalized days after the events. He was paid the million for his services only after having completed his assignment -- that of cooking and distributing roughly 100,000 hot meals.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/11/28/2522575/wyclef-jean-yele-misspending-allegations.html

[Astro Girl]

11:31 PM on 11/28/2011

Nothing new, that's what they all do. No respect for their own, lsewonder why no one else respect them.

[Franck Casseus]

10:35 PM on 11/28/2011

The New York post is a racist tabloid . They have tried to villify President Obama before.
African American efforts are minimized by the New York Post in order to blemish any successful endeavors by us, Black.
Tell the Post that we are BLACK and PROUD!!!

[xhawk2]

07:57 AM on 11/29/2011

You blacks are racist crybabies. You play the race card when you're caught.

[TdeyoMN]

09:37 AM on 11/29/2011

And you are? Yes, a crybaby for resonding in such an ignorant way. Did that comment really strike a nerve? Go have some warm milk, and maybe your racism will melt away.

[Heat2Hot]

08:56 AM on 11/30/2011

You are playing the race card by discriminating against an entire race of people so you are no better than those you condemn.