Wyclef Defends Yele at Teary-Eyed Press Conference

By Sam Brand Posted Jan 18th 2010 11:12PM

The face of the ongoing tragedy in Haiti broke into tears Monday during a press conference called to dispel rumors that his Yele Haiti foundation had misused funds and failed to properly file its taxes. "If you're a man with a clear conscience, speak with a clear conscience and the world will know," Wyclef Jean said to an audience of reporters. "The books are open. We have a clean bill of health from an auditor."

On Thursday, The Smoking Gun published a report accusing Jean of using using Yele Haiti funds for his own personal use and failing to file tax returns in a timely manner.

Wyclef lashed out at the rumors on Monday. "Have I made mistakes? Yes," Jean said at the news conference. "Did I ever use Yele money for personal benefits? Absolutely not."

The Smoking Gun lists among the charity's 2006 expenditures over $30,000 in recording studio rent, $100,000 in performance fees, and $250,000 in "TV airtime and production services" paid to a Haitian company that lists Jean on its board.

In an odd twist, the report claims that the "bulk" of Yele Haiti's 2006 contributions came from PEOPLE magazine in exchange for the publishing rights to the first photos of Angelina Jolie pregnant with daughter Shiloh. Jolie and Brad Pitt were known supporters of Yele in 2006.

Wyclef isn't alone in calling the accusations misleading. Hugh Locke, president of Yele, took to the podium on Monday to justify the questionable 2006 payments.

"On the books, it looks as though there was benefit, but there was not," he said. "It was not done with the intent to do anything other than be efficient."

Many nonprofit experts have taken Yele's side. It's not uncommon for charities to purchase goods or services from a business connected with the charity, especially if the purchases were made below market value, which is reportedly the case here.

As for the tardy tax returns, which were filed "beyond late" according to nonprofit watchdog Charity Navigator, Locke takes full blame. "We should have been on top of it; we were not," he said on Monday.

The allegations threaten to derail a charity effort that has been overwhelmingly successful since the 7.0 earthquake struck 8 miles beneath Port-au-Prince, causing massive devastation and an estimated 100,000 casualties. Yele reportedly pulled in over $1 million in the disaster's first 36 hours, and the foundation now counts its donation base at "several million dollars."

Wyclef tearfully insisted the money will be put to good use. "I was the one carrying the little girls to the morgue. In reality, my people are dying. I have to go back for relief. I do not cry for myself. I cry for them," the star said.

Tags: angelina jolie, brad pitt, haiti, haiti earthquake, shiloh jolie-pitt, wyclef cries, Wyclef Jean, Yele Haiti

Comments

(11)

Monday 18 January

By leroy

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Wyclef be dealing with some nasty stuff.Dirty dealing in the haitian camps..He needs to get The Fugees back together and make some Chedda for the haitian ..UH UH YEAHHH BOYYYYZZ FIRST AGAIN DOGG !!! UH UH UH YEAHHH WHAT ?? WHAT ???

Tuesday 19 January

By Erik

crooked, just plain crooked.

By Gigi

I believe he is sincere and this probably is a case of mismanagement, but if people want to point fingers at a charity riddled with corruption, dig a little deeper into the Red Cross. They've wasted millions on severence packages over the past decade alone for their corrupt top dogs.

By ladydi9251

I agree with you wholeheartedly, Gigi. ARC takes 30% off the top straight up. And last year the CEO paid himself over half a million dollars. I don't think that is right. You are in it because it is a charity or you go find a regular job that will pay you that much. You don't take the people money that is suspose to help others. It's just so wrong.

By Jane

I think/ would imagine that it would be quite difficult to carry on with a career that has such demands as Wyclef Jean. To maintain an honest charitable organization as well would also be a challenge. Unless and until there is proof that he had knowledge of this stuff, then I'd assume it never happened or if it did, he was not aware or misinformed.

By barbie

Well then take off your rose colored glasses Jane. What popeater failed to inform you of is that any monies collected from this charity right now is not going towards relief. It is being collected as a way for rebuilding the country afterwards. So for them to jump into action and promote their charity as Haiti relief is false. How many false's does it take to make it clear that there is something fishy with this charity?

By Jim

Go to smoking gun and look at the tax returns- anyone with half a brain knows no money went to the Haitians- he is dirty- do not send money to this conman!!!!!!!!

Sorry but shedding a few tears over past mis-conduct doesn't cut it for me. This man came out asking for donations, made a plea to all the networks to donate to his charity and they fell for it just because he is some kind of celebrity. They got duped as well as those who donated ! What popeater fails to report that in addition to the above problems, they are also not in the business of donating that money towards the relief effort, but for the efforts once the country is stabilized. So there you go another lie. The last thing on Haiti's mind right now is re-buiding efforts, they have lost families, people that are buried right now are dying. The help this country needs is immediate help and this charity isn't providing that.

Barbie, you are so right. I should have 'investigated' Yele. I saw all the tv footage and it hurt me to my heart. So I thought I would donate to Yele because I thought my money would go towards water, food, meds and etc. But once I clicked on 'process', this thank you paragraph popped up thanking me and that my money would go towards 'education, rebuilding, and blah, blah, blah. I was very disappointed. But...oh well...

By Rose

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Hay Wyclief, shut the eff up. It is what it is. We all know the story. YES you have been living off your charity. Quit crying and making stupid speeches to people who cannot see you and who know what a loser you are. You are embasrrasing us as a nation. Go to Haiti!

By DJ Jayito NYC

OH MY - HOW THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN! Wyclef's 15 minutes of fame ENDED years ago, so I don't doubt this at all. That being said, I won't accuse him, but I will again - state fact... Wyclef's 15 minutes of fame are over.

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