Wyclef Responds To Yele Haiti's Financial Scrutiny After Raising 2 Mil In Aid

Wyclef Responds To Yele Haiti’s Financial Scrutiny After Raising 2 Mil In Aid

Written by J.R. on January 16th, 2010 in Business, Celebrity News, Gossip/Rumors, People - International, Hip-Hop Justice, People - U.S., World, WTF, Hip Hop, News, Wyclef Jean.

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Photo of Wyclef Jean, founder of Yele Haiti Foundation, now under financial scrunity
Despite all Wyclef Jean’s efforts to raise money, be hands on, write a plea to government and President Barack Obama, developing a celebrity telethon and more to help Haiti and the Haitian people, the rapper/music producer/social activist’s organization Yéle Haiti Foundation, is now under fiscal scrutiny.

Reports such as on the Washington Post, claim that advisers and investigators are saying that Yele’s foundation is basically not very trustworthy with allegations such as: Wyclef Jean was paid $100,000 profit for a performance at a 2006 benefit concert; Yele charity paid around $31,000 ($2,600 a month) in rent to Platinum Sound, a Manhattan recording studio owned by Wyclef Jean and partner Jerry Duplessis; as well as claims that Yele missed years of tax returns and has paid $250,000 to television station Telemax in which Wyclef and Jerry have considerable interest in.

Well, Hugh Locke, President of Yéle Haiti, has responded in a statement to AllHipHop early Saturday morning and says that founder of Yele, Wyclef Jean, has quote “never profited from his organization” and it is a quote “shame that during this international emergency” they had to pull much needed time from the response efforts to the Haiti earthquake and relief effort to “address these allegations.”

Regarding the claim that Wyclef Jean was paid $100,000 profit for a performance at a 2006 benefit concert, Yele’s “financial facts” report released claim that yes Wyclef Jean was paid $100,000 in connection with the benefit concert but it was organized by a for-profit organization and a majority of the money went towards costs related to the performance such as hiring musicians and other related production costs.

In regards to the claims that the organization hasn’t filed taxes, the “financial facts” state that Yele Haiti, which originally was called the Wyclef Jean Foundation, filed a tax return in 2000 and then suspended activities until 2005 so was not required by law to file a tax return while not in operation.

Furthermore, the “financial facts” state that the firm of Tempesta & Farrell, P.C. gave Yéle Haiti a clean bill of health in independent external audits conducted in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 as well as all transactions involving board members Wyclef Jean and Jerry Duplessis are guided and watched over by the firm of Grant Thornton LLP to insure they ‘handle good business’ in such matters.

As far as the rent being paid for space in Wyclef’s studio, the “financial facts” state that the reason for that is to quote “save money” instead of paying considerable amount more for another arrangement such as in midtown Manhattan.

Last but not least, “financial facts” say regarding the $250,000 of airtime on Telemax in Haiti, they have documentation which will reveal 100’s of hours of Yéle programming, over several years, that addressed not only development but social issues in Haiti.

The Yéle Haiti Foundation has raised over $2 million in Haiti aid contributions since the Haiti earthquake, mostly via mobile donations, as reported on HipHopRX.com. Among Haiti efforts, Locke says the organization also raises money for scholarships, various educational trips, employs natives and more.

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8 Responses to “Wyclef Responds To Yele Haiti’s Financial Scrutiny After Raising 2 Mil In Aid”

jc Says:
January 16th, 2010 at 1:29 pm
they can make all the excuses in the world but the fact is, their salary, overhead and ad expenses dwarf larger and more reputable organizations like CARE or UNICEF. Yele has 70% overhead overall, wihle CARE and UNICEF have 10%. Check out charitynavigator.org and stay away from ‘Clef
Hilary Says:
January 16th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
I trust a Haitian to help other Haitians. Instead of sending money to US-run organizations that will undoubtedly distribute the funds to private US contractors, send it to Wyclef. I trust him to at least employ Haitians in the relief effort.
Laurie Pringle Says:
January 16th, 2010 at 2:35 pm
It’s easier for larger organizations to have lower expenses, because they raise more… so the real dollars spent are higher, but the percentage is lower.

That said - if he owns the studio, why not just give them the space? Why does he want them to pay him at all? If the money for the benefit concert went to other musicians, it should’ve been paid to them - not to Wyclef.

This may well be a perception problem and the management issues may well be reasonable, but they’ve done a terrible job of employing arms length practices. I don’t doubt that they produced 100’s of hours of TV promotions - but why did they need that? What did they accomplish with that 250K investment and why did they have to use a company partially owned by Wyclef?

This is the kind of thing that puts people off charities altogether. It’s unfortunate, but people will question anything and everything. It behooves the leadership of these organizations to ensure that nothing occurs which might be perceived the wrong way. They failed to do that here.
Tore Simonsen Says:
January 16th, 2010 at 3:39 pm
http://digg.com/world_news/Donate_To_Yele
dogdz Says:
January 16th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
This report sanitizes most of the inconvenient fact out of existence. See e.g the item at Reddit:

http://www.reddit.com/tb/aqegg

The source familiar with Yele Haiti’s operations says the most outrageous expenditure—$250,000 in 2006 to purchase airtime on the Haitian television network Telemax, which Jean and his business partner own a controlling interest in—is even more troubling than it seems. Jean actually used Yele Haiti’s money to initially purchase Telemax, and came up with the idea of the donated airtime after the fact to explain the expense. “That money was taken out of Yele,” the source says, “and the story was concocted afterward. Hugh Locke looked at the balance sheet and saw $250,000 missing. Wyclef said he’d already spent it on Telemax. Locke said, ‘We can’t do that. This can’t be fraud—we have to get something in return.’ The only thing they could get back from Telemax was the airtime, which they did.”
joe Says:
January 16th, 2010 at 5:04 pm
Can anyone recall someone singer who runs a charity Charge his charity to preform at it? I can’t. sounds like more of an ego project and a wallet fattening project for Wyclef

people should read this post at gawker
http://bit.ly/8JON8N

as well as this one
http://bit.ly/7zRH6L

Explains a lot more. Also look at Yele’s website. does it look like a legitimate charity?

seems like a lot of people that got duped into giving money to yele instead of legit charities with actual operational and financial expertise that didn’t bother to even basic due diligence on him before giving money to them are acting like apologists for him.

Kind of like justifying and rationalizing their initial bad decision and throwing good money after bad.

It’s not just financial problems/fraud?. doesn’t look like any professional operational experience. look at the website,
http://www.yele.org/

no evidence of it. his main skill is getting attention which celebrities are good at. but it’s a shame he’s takeing money from other local and international charities that could use it more effectively and same more lives and help more people.

There are charity review sites that actually analyze charities that are operating in Haiti for effectiveness and financial responsibility ie charity navigator like previously mentioned
http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=1004

but they don’t mention yele on their lists.

The people of Haiti deserve better.
BT Says:
January 16th, 2010 at 11:55 pm
there is a banner ad on THIS page for his charity - bias much?
Rapper Trina Considering Adopting Haitian Child; Haiti Death Toll Reaches 150K Says:
January 25th, 2010 at 4:12 pm
[…] and defended the rapper/founder of Yele Haiti Foundation’s organization after it came under financial scrutiny by press, as covered on […]