Wyclef Jean’s Haiti foundation falls under criticism for spending practices
Haitian hip-hop star Wyclef Jean was one of the most vocal supporters of his native country following its devastating 2010 earthquake. Jean spend millions to try to help Haiti rebuild, but his charity is now being criticized for how it handled donated funds.
The New York Post first reported that the foundation, Yele Haiti, had its funds grow to nearly $16 million after the earthquake. However, the Post reports that records show less than a third of those funds actually went to rebuilding the country, while $1 million of it went to a Florida firm that does not exist.
The foundation, which Jean co-founded in 2005, has a history of financial problems, losing $244,000 in 2009 and failing to file tax returns on its spending to the IRS in 2008. After the earthquake hit, Jean pleaded for $5 donations on Twitter. Just days after the earthquake hit, Jean was forced to defend the foundation, saying, “Did I ever use Yele money for personal benefits? Absolutely not. Yele’s books are open and transparent.”
The Florida firm that received $1 million was Miami-based Amisphere Farm Labor Inc., but no trace of the firm’s existence could be found by the Post. TMZ reports that firm failed to file paperwork that would allow it to do business in the state.
Like he was forced to last year, Jean again defended his organization, releasing a statement to The Miami Herald, attempting to show errors in the Post’s report. He outright called it “misleading, deceptive and incomplete.”
“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, adding that the foundation’s decisions allowed for aid to be administered quickly to respond to the crisis.
Jean also explained Amisphere Farm Labor Inc.’s role, saying that it “was responsible for preparing and delivering close to 100,000 meals.”
“Since Yele launched six years ago we have helped close to half a million people. I will always love and serve the Haitian people until the day I die,” Jean said in the statement, which was also sent to TMZ.