“Some of that money, the indictment alleges, was used to pay a lobbyist in 2004 to try to get the embattled charity off a Senate Finance Committee list of organizations suspected of being involved in supporting international terrorism.”
Which lobbyist?
“Group defied sanctions, stole public money, U.S. says,” by Derek Kravitz for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, with thanks to all who sent this in:
JEFFERSON CITY “” Five associates of a defunct Columbia, Mo.-based Islamic charity, including a state employee, have been indicted on charges they illegally sent money to Iraq and stole public donations, the U.S. attorney’s office announced Wednesday.
A federal grand jury returned the indictments on Tuesday.
The documents, which charge the five men with illegally transferring money to Iraq, money laundering, theft of government funds, making false statements to federal authorities and obstructing the administration of Internal Revenue Service laws, among other things, were unsealed Wednesday after two of the defendants made their initial court appearances in Kansas City.
The 33-count indictment alleges that five associates of the Islamic American Relief Agency, or IARA-USA, sent $1.4 million in aid to Iraq from 1991 to 2003, when government-imposed sanctions were in place….
Federal authorities say the charity group used its tax-exempt status to solicit thousands of dollars in public donations. Those donations were, in turn, transferred to bank accounts in Jordan and given to Iraqis and Iraqi organizations.
The indictment says the money was used to promote “unlawful activity” but fails to explain how the money was spent. The indictment also says the charity stole about $85,000 from a $4.2 million federal grant with the U.S. Agency for International Development for relief in the African country of Mali.
Some of that money, the indictment alleges, was used to pay a lobbyist in 2004 to try to get the embattled charity off a Senate Finance Committee list of organizations suspected of being involved in supporting international terrorism.