Commentary
By Frances Rice
As exposed in the below article by Sarah Westwood, the Clinton Foundation reportedly has broken federal tax laws to benefit fellow Clinton cronies. The operation of the Clinton Foundation during Hillary Clinton's diplomatic tenure are part of the FBI investigation into her communications.
Democrats are starting to ask if Hillary
Clinton could lose to Donald Trump and one reason they should worry.
The Wall Street Journal reported on page: Bill Clinton used the nonprofit Clinton
Global Initiative to funnel private money to a company owned by friends of Bill
and Hillary. This is in direct violation of the law that says nonprofits, which
are exempt from most taxation, aren’t supposed to act on the financial behalf
of for-profit businesses.
The Clinton Foundation’s books are fraudulent.
The Washington Examiner reports: After more than a year
of research, a Wall Street analyst is arguing that the Clinton Foundation's books
are riddled with financial inconsistencies that rise to the level of
"fraud."
Charles Ortel, a financial whistleblower, spent 15 months
doing research into the Clinton Foundation. Ortel prepared 40 reports, highlighting
discrepancies that prove the Clinton Foundation covered up cash flows since
1997. His reports reveal gaps in the amount
of money donors claim to have given and the amount of money the foundation
claims to have received.
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Financial analyst alleges major holes in Clinton
Foundation records
By Sarah Westwood
After more than a year of research, a Wall Street analyst
is arguing the Clinton Foundation's books are riddled with financial inconsistencies
that rise to the level of "fraud."
Charles Ortel, who gained recognition for correctly
identifying problems with General Electric's financial statements in 2008, has
prepared 40 reports highlighting discrepancies that he said proves the Clinton
Foundation has covered up cash flow since 1997.
The financial whistleblower said his 15 months of
research revealed gaps in the amount of money donors claim to have given and
the amount of money the foundation claims to have received.
The Clinton Foundation
network is actually comprised of several different charities that all perform
seemingly similar functions. Those include the Clinton Health Access
Initiative, the Clinton Global Initiative, the Clinton Climate Initiative and
several more, all with varying degrees of overlapping finances.
Ortel said the foundations' complex paper trails are
littered with mistakes and repeat filings.
In November, the Clinton Health Access Initiative was
forced to refile its tax returns after a review revealed big-ticket foreign
donations that had been left off its Form 990 filing.
The Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation has been
removed from the website of a prominent nonprofit watchdog, Charity Navigator,
because its "atypical business model cannot be accurately captured"
by methods used to size up traditional charities.
The pattern extends to smaller charities linked to the
Clintons, Ortel noted. One organization founded by former President Bill
Clinton, the American India Foundation, has problems that stretch around the
country.
For example, the American India Foundation's nonprofit
status was revoked in Illinois in 2002, according to state records. This year,
the charity was listed as "not in good standing."
In Massachusetts, the foundation had its nonprofit status
revoked in June 2014 and was not reinstated until March 22 of this year.
In March 2015, the charity held a gala in an Atlanta
hotel, according to an event promotion.
But the American India Foundation was not then registered
to solicit funds in the state of Georgia, correspondences shared with the
Washington Examiner suggest. In fact, the only charity in the Clinton orbit
that was registered in the Peach State as of October was the Bill, Hillary and
Chelsea Clinton Foundation — even though the Clinton Global Initiative plans to
hold its glitzy annual conference in Atlanta next month.
An official with the Georgia secretary of state's office
said the state government did not have an open investigation into potentially
unregistered arms of the Clinton Foundation, although emails shared with the
Examiner indicate inquiries about the charities were routed to a securities
enforcement attorney in November of last year.
Sandra Miniutti of Charity Navigator said the patchwork
of nonprofit regulations across different states can sometimes trip up
well-meaning charities.
"The current state registration system is complex,
bureaucratic and out-of-date with the modern times," Miniutti said.
"It was conceived before the internet and technology made it easily for
charities to solicit across state lines."
Miniutti said nonprofits often tap outside firms to keep
up with compliance issues.
"While we don't condone non-compliance, it is not
particularly surprising to hear of an organization accidently being out of
compliance," she said.
Hal Moroz, a private attorney and former Georgia judge,
said he referred some of Ortel's findings on the violations of the foundation
to the state attorney general's office.
"This is a matter of great public interest because
we have a major party presidential candidate who has been greatly enriched by
the questionable activities of a foundation that was meant to serve charitable
public interests," Moroz said.
"The records of charities are open to public review
and scrutiny, and this is so because there are certain tax advantages to
registering under state and federal law as a charity and the citizens of the
United States foot the bill for these tax advantages," he added.
Bill Clinton serves as honorary chair of the American
India Foundation, a title he's held since founding the organization in 2001.
The former president created the foundation alongside
Rajat Gupta, who was then managing director at McKinsey & Co.
McKinsey & Co., a major consulting firm, has donated
up to $1 million to the Clinton Foundation and has employed Chelsea Clinton.
Gupta became engulfed in controversy in 2011 when he was
hit with accusations of insider trading from the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
Ortel said he believes Bill Clinton seldom mentions his
ties to the American India Foundation due to its messy finances and affiliation
with individuals like Gupta.
A spokesman for the foundation said the lapse in
registration in Massachusetts was due to documents the state said it never
received and that the registration lapse in Illinois was due to a
misunderstanding involving the deadline to file paperwork. The spokesman also
said the foundation registered to solicit donations in the state of Georgia in
March of this year.
The little-known charity is just one example of the way
the Clintons' philanthropic network skirts federal and state regulations to
continue operations despite massive financial discrepancies, Ortel said.
In other cases,
the lines between foundation entities like the Clinton Health Access
Initiative, the Clinton HIV/Aids Initiative, and the Clinton Climate Initiative
were blurred enough to conceal specific transactions, he explained.
The Clinton Foundation's acceptance of foreign donations
while Hillary Clinton served as secretary of state dogged the early days of her
campaign but was quickly overshadowed by controversy over her private email
server. Its operations during Hillary Clinton's diplomatic tenure are
reportedly an aspect of the FBI investigation into her communications.
