Monday, October 28, 2013

Washington Post. 10/27/2013. Inside the hidden world of thefts, scams and phantom purchases at the nation’s nonprofits

http://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/inside-the-hidden-world-of-thefts-scams-and-phantom-purchases-at-the-nations-nonprofits/2013/10/26/825a82ca-0c26-11e3-9941-6711ed662e71_story.html


Inside the hidden world of thefts, scams and phantom purchases at the nation’s nonprofits


The American Legacy Foundation’s headquarters in Northwest WashingtonThe American Legacy Foundation’s headquarters in Northwest Washington (Linda Davidson/The Washington Post)
PUBLISHED: OCTOBER 26
For 14 years, the American Legacy Foundation has managed hundreds of millions of dollars drawn from a government settlement with big tobacco companies, priding itself on funding vital health research and telling the unadorned truth about the deadly effects of smoking.
Yet the foundation, located just blocks from the White House, was restrained when asked on a federal disclosure form whether it had experienced an embezzlement or other “diversion” of its assets.
SEE ALSO: Read about how a trusted bookkeeper wasembezzling money from a nonprofit rowing clubin Virginia, plus how this story was reported.
Legacy officials typed “yes” on Page 6 of their 2011 form and provided a six-line explanation 32 pages later, disclosing that they “became aware” of a diversion “in excess of $250,000 committed by a former employee.” They wrote that the diversion was due to fraud and now say they believe they fulfilled their disclosure requirement.
Cheryl Healton is Legacy’s founding president and chief executive.Cheryl Healton is Legacy’s founding president and chief executive.
Records and interviews reveal the full story: an estimated $3.4 million loss, linked to purchases from a business described sometimes as a computer supply firm and at others as a barbershop, and to an assistant vice president who now runs a video game emporium in Ni­ger­ia.
Also not included in the disclosure report: details about how Legacy officials waited nearly three years after an initial warning before they called in investigators.
“We’re not innocent in this,” said Legacy chief executiveCheryl Healton. “We are horrified it happened on our watch.. . . The truth hurts — we screwed up.”
A Washington Post analysis of filings from 2008 to 2012 found that Legacy is one of more than 1,000 nonprofit organizations that checked the box indicating that they had discovered a “significant diversion” of assets, disclosing losses attributed to theft, investment fraud, embezzlement and other unauthorized uses of funds.
The diversions drained hundreds of millions of dollars from institutions that are underwritten by public donations and government funds. Just 10 of the largest disclosures identified by The Post cited combined losses to nonprofit groups and their affiliates that potentially totaled more than a half-billion dollars.
While some of the diversions have come to public attention, many others — such as the one at the American Legacy Foundation — have not been reported in the news media. And The Post found that nonprofits routinely omitted important details from their public filings, leaving the public to guess what had happened — even though federal disclosure instructions direct nonprofit groups to explain the circumstances. About half the organizations did not disclose the total amount lost.
The findings are striking because organizations are required to report only diversions of more than $250,000 or those identified as having exceeded 5 percent of an organization’s annual gross receipts or total assets. Of those, filing instructions direct nonprofits to disclose “any unauthorized conversion or use of the organization’s assets other than for the organization’s authorized purposes, including but not limited to embezzlement or theft.”

Examples of financial skullduggery abound in the District, throughout the Washington region and across the United States.
As part of its analysis, The Post assembled the first public,searchable database of nonprofits that have disclosed diversions, available at ­wapo.st/
diversionsdatabase
. Groups on the list were identified with the assistance of GuideStar, an organization that gathers and disseminates federal filings by nonprofits.
A few blocks from Legacy’s offices on Massachusetts Avenue, the nonprofit Youth Service America reported two years ago that it discovered a diversion in 2009 of about $2 million that had been “misappropriated” by a former employee. After The Post asked about the incident, he was charged in federal court and in June was sentenced to four years in prison for theft.
A few blocks in the other direction is the Alliance for Excellent Education, which disclosed four years ago that investment manager Bernard L. Madoff’s Ponzi scheme had wiped nearly $7 million from its balance sheets. In a statement to The Post, officials there called the figure a “paper” loss.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

International Rescue Committee (IRC): Central African Republic: Forgotten?


IRC Monthly Newsletter
MONTHLY UPDATE
October 2013
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Forgotten?
IRC staff distribute rice to a displaced man in Kaga Bandoro, Central African Republic
Photo: Peter Biro/IRC
“The rebels stole all our cassava and rice,” says Dieudonné Dounea, the father of two-year-old Nathan, who arrived at an IRC-supported hospital in the town of Kaga Bandoro near death from starvation. The IRC's Peter Biro reports on how we are helping in a country where political chaos and rampant violence threaten millions of people without making global headlines.
Photo Story

Privacy Policy | RSS © 2013 International Rescue Committee

International Rescue Committee (IRC): Syria: Winters Threat



IRC Monthly Newsletter
MONTHLY UPDATE
October 2013
















                                 
A girl holds a baby on a cold day in a camp for Syrians displaced by civil war
Photo: Peter Biro/IRC
SYRIA: Winter’s Threat
As Syria's civil war rages on, families inside the country and around the region are facing what may be an unusually harsh winter without adequate shelter or enough to eat. "There is a winter from hell coming for millions of people," says IRC president David Miliband. The IRC and our partners are providing emergency support to hundreds of thousands of refugees and displaced Syrians.
From the Field
Tell Us

Privacy Policy | RSS © 2013 International Rescue Committee

Friday, October 25, 2013

Emergency, Disaster, Crisis & Risk Management Information 'One Stop Shopping'

BEMA Network (All):

So much information, so many links to track, so many miles before I sleep.

If there is one internet link\url to keep your situation awareness on local and global communities, try the CBS News Disaster Link at http://www.cbsnews.com/digitaldan/disaster/disasters.shtml as your one stop shopping location for emergency, disaster crisis and risk management site.

Be safe, be prepared.


Black Emergency Managers Association  
1231  Good Hope Road  S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20020
Office:   202-618-9097 
bEMA 


"Leaders don't force people to follow, they invite them on a journey" - Charles S Lauer

Thursday, October 24, 2013

UNISDR: Guidance Note on Disability and Emergency Risk Management for Health

People with disabilities are disproportionately affected in emergencies and experience particularly high rates of mortality in these contexts. To mark International Day for Disaster Reduction 2013, CBM, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Organization for Migration, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and the World Health Organization release today a guidance note to highlight the needs of people with disabilities before, during and after emergencies.
Emergencies can increase the vulnerability of people with disabilities, as people with disabilities may be less able to escape from hazards; may lose essential medications or assistive devices such as spectacles or hearing and mobility aids; or may be left behind when a community is forced to evacuate. People with disabilities may also have greater difficulty accessing basic needs, including food, water, shelter, latrines and health-care services. Following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in 2011, statistics showed that the fatality rate for people with disabilities was twice that of non-disabled people.
Emergencies also create a new generation of people with disabilities due to injuries, poor basic surgical and medical care, emergency-induced mental health and psychological problems and breakdown in support structures and preventive health care. Estimates from some countries suggest that up to one quarter of disabilities before, during and after emergencies may be associated with violence and injuries. It is estimated that for every child killed as a result of violent conflict, three are injured and permanently impaired.
The Guidance note on disability and emergency risk management for health is a short, practical guide that covers actions across emergency risk management, such as risk assessment, prevention, preparedness, response, recovery and reconstruction. Developed primarily for health actors working in emergency and disaster risk management at the local, national or international level, and in governmental or nongovernmental agencies, the guidance note points out the health-related actions that are required to ensure that both mainstream and specific support are available and accessible to people with disabilities in emergencies.
International Organization for Migration:
Copyright © IOM. All rights reserved.

RECOMMENDED READING LIST

Search This Blog

ARCHIVE List 2011 - Present