Investigation of HSUS fraud in Katrina fundraising - UPDATE, post 11

[Passiton]

Crossposting....


Link to transcript of expose': http://petpac.net/news/headlines/story_exposing_hsus_buried_read_transcript/

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Subject: RE: Consumer Freedom Contact


Attention dog lovers!

PLEASE CROSS-POST

The nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom has learned that the office of
Louisiana Attorney General James "Buddy" Caldwell is considering
whether to re-open an investigation into the Humane Society of the
United States (HSUS). The investigation concerns whether HSUS improperly
spent some of the $34 million it raised for the benefit of pets
displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

Apparently, Caldwell's office received a deluge of phone calls last
week, beginning the day after Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB-TV aired an
expose© of HSUS's fundraising activities. In that report, WSB
called HSUS "an organization actively misleading donors to get
money." The TV station also explored just how little of
HSUS's "Katrina" fundraising appears to have been spent on genuine
Katrina-related disaster relief.

This was a fabulous piece of journalism on a subject many news outlets
have been too intimidated or too biased to cover. (WSB-TV is working on
a follow-up story, but weâll all just have to wait patiently for that.)

Hereâs what you can do to help:

(1) CALL the Consumer Protection Section of the Louisiana Attorney
General's Office during regular business hours. The toll-free number
is 800-351-4889. If you live in Louisiana, please call the local number
at 225-326-6465, or the general office number at 225-326-6200.

Tell whoever answers that you would like the Attorney General to re-open
his investigation of the Humane Society of the United States. Remind
him/her that there's no official accounting of how HSUS spent most of
the $34 million it raised after Hurricane Katrina.

Before you hang up, ask to be transferred to Assistant Attorney General
Mimi Hunley. If you get through to Ms. Hunley, please be polite and make
the same request of her or her staff.

(2) Please follow-up with a polite e-mail to
ConsumerInfo@ag.state.la.us, and let the A.G.'s office read your
request in your own words. Drop me an e-mail at
Martosko@ConsumerFreedom.com and let me know how everything went. (Or
just "BCC" me on your follow-up e-mail.)

(3) If you are able, please consider making a donation to the Center for
Consumer Freedom so we can keep putting pressure on the Humane Society
of the United States. Weâve got some exciting plans for the months
ahead, but we need additional resources to make it all work. For every
dollar we raise, HSUS typically raises about $30.

Donations can be made at http://www.consumerfreedom.com/donations.cfm
and they are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. The Center for
Consumer Freedom is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Thanks for all you do to provide for animals. Remember: You are the real
animal advocates. And we're on your side.



David Martosko
Director of Research
martosko@ConsumerFreedom.com
www.Twitter.com/DMartosko

The Center for Consumer Freedom
www.ConsumerFreedom.com
www.PETAkillsAnimals.com
www.HumaneWatch.org

[Alagirl]

about time?

[Bluey]

I wondered at that time, when the station's video was pulled off the internet and all google references that could be found eliminated, why would the HSUS fight this one time, that has never cared what anyone said, since they think themselves so powerful and above it all.

Guess that they may have met their match with that attorney general?

Honestly, if we don't curb the animal rights groups some, if we stay asleep at the wheel of public opinion and let those groups define if and how we should use animals, well, as the president of the HSUS said in one interview, in one generation we won't have any more domestic animals, that includes our horses, to use at all and, again in his words, "none too soon for him".:eek:

I will contend that just because some abuse animals, we should not all lose our use of them, just because some extremists, dictating their will to others, don't want humans to use animals.

If someone can put some brakes on them, that will give us a little more time to keep doing our best with and for our animals and stop those that don't, as we have been doing all thru history.

[bambam]

where did you see this- I did not see it on either the consumer freedom or petpac website?

[shea'smom]

My barn raised over $1300 for the Katrina Animals and sent it to the HSUS.
Crap.

[JSwan]

I wondered at that time, when the station's video was pulled off the internet and all google references that could be found eliminated, why would the HSUS fight this one time, that has never cared what anyone said, since they think themselves so powerful and above it all.



What is scary is that a "charity" can threaten the media successfully. If that isn't sinister I don't know what is.

And yes - what HSUS did during Katrina was criminal. Tens of millions of dollars that was never spent to assist ONE animal.

It's fraudulent solicitation and any nonprofit that engages in that practice should have its tax exempt status revoked.

But HSUS has become so powerful - I doubt anything will happen.

[Bluey]

My barn raised over $1300 for the Katrina Animals and sent it to the HSUS.
Crap.


How do you think they got to be the largest animal rights group?
Here is some information on the money they have, all tax free, to use as they wish.
You can find more about them on the menu on the right:

http://www.activistcash.com/organization_financials.cfm/oid/136

Latest figures I have heard of were that they spent 4% a year of what they get directly on animals, the rest is for lobbying their lately very extremist animal rights agenda.
That is fine, it is their money, just so the public knows that is where their money goes, don't give it assuming it is going to help animals directly, as in the hurricane disaster.

[sid]

This is not unusual for the large charitable non-profits....they have become huge bureacracies with huge overheads. A bit like the federal government. No one goes after them because they ARE so big. Most of the money they raise goes for overhead first...the "real" last.

It's also not unusual for new, lesser-known, smaller charities that venture into their territory are found threatening to them -- and and get shut down. All very political. All about raising $$ and marketing themselves.

Don't ask me how I know...;) BTW, this has been going on for decades.

[Alagirl]

How do you know?

:winkgrin:

[JSwan]

I agree, sid. They become something very similar to Enron. They don't actually do anything - it's just a money machine - that churns and churns and churns. HSUS stands on the shoulders of the groups doing the real welfare work, rescue and advocacy and then claims credit, takes the money - and leaves.

And it's way past time the public knew about it because lots of people are being duped.



This is not unusual for the large charitable non-profits....they have become huge bureacracies with huge overheads. A bit like the federal government. No one goes after them because they ARE so big. Most of the money they raise goes for overhead first...the "real" last.

It's also not unusual for new, lesser-known, smaller charities that venture into their territory are found threatening to them -- and and get shut down. All very political. All about raising $$ and marketing themselves.

Don't ask me how I know...;) BTW, this has been going on for decades.

[Passiton]

UPDATE



Re: Ch 2 demands PetPac remove transcript


>Today the ABC Atlanta news story exposing the Humane Society of the United
>States (HSUS) questionable fundraising practices became even more
>controversial when the station contacted PetPAC demanding we take down the
>transcript of the story.

The story appeared on Channel 2 in Atlanta over a week ago and soon after
HSUS apparently initiated a campaign to cover up the story from being told.

The video of the news story was mysteriously taken down from the station's
archives and You Tube, most likely the result of HSUS demands.

Why the cover up? The investigative report exposed how HSUS raises hundreds
of millions of dollars but contributes virtually nothing to help support
local animal shelters as their solicitations often seem to imply.

Here's a transcript of the news story sent to us by a member. We believe the
United States Constitution guarantees our freedom of political speech to
send this to you.

The power of an organization which raises hundreds of millions of dollars
like HSUS is immense. If they are trying to cover up this story, we simply
would like to know why. We look forward to hearing their side of the story,
but to date they have not issued a denial of the investigative report
exposing their suspect fundraising practices.

We will continue to keep you informed.

Sincerely,

Bill Hemby
Chairman


http://petpac.net/news/headlines/story_exposing_hsus_buried_read_transcript/

Story Exposing HSUS Buried: Read Transcript

An ABC-TV affiliate in Atlanta aired an Investigative Report on where the Humane Society of the United States spends its money. Twenty four hours later, the story was pulled from the air. I wasn’t able to locate it in their archives either, even though there were older investigative stories still there. I spoke with Mark Winne of Channel 2 and was told that it is routine to take down this type of news report, however he was less specific when asked why it wasn’t saved in their archives. A copy of the video played on YouTube for one day then mysteriously disappeared from that site as well.

PetPAC posted, on our site, the written transcript you see below, sent to us by several of our supporters.

Friday morning PetPAC received an email from an attorney representing WSB-TV ordering us to remove the written word from public view. I have to conclude, as others have already, that this demand has been triggered by some powerful action to squelch the story.

Since HSUS has not come out publicly to protest the facts contained in this story, nor has WSB-TV issued any form of retraction I think it logical to assume the story has to be substantially true and accurate.

So much for freedom of the press and the First Amendment to the Constitution. Since those of us in PetPAC do not want to upset TV broadcasters, we have not made any further attempts to get copies of the video story. However, the transcript sent to us from others, not taken from the station website, unsubstantiated as it is reprinted below.

Where Humane Society Donations Really Go

ATLANTA -- A Channel 2 investigation is looking into millions of dollars in donations given to the Humane Society of the United States.

A national consumer organization says the society solicits pet-lovers for money, but little to none of that money ever goes to help local shelters.

Critics tell Channel 2 Action News reporter Amanda Rosseter that this isn’t just consumers misunderstanding who they are giving in to – but an organization actively misleading donors to get money.

“They do their marketing very well, that's for sure,” said Trey Burley of PAWS Atlanta.

Critics say the national organization takes advantage of people who think they are giving to local shelters. DeKalb's "PAWS" shelter says there is no regular funding help from the $100 million HSUS budget.

“I think that some of the folks who donate to the national organization may be under the false pretense that that money is going to a local cause,” said Burley.

While the HSUS does work to stop puppy mills, it also gets media coverage and donations doing it; but the puppies then go to local shelters who have to pay and care for them.

“They may initialize the resources for a rescue, but again the animals go to a shelter somewhere in the country,” said Richard Rice, VP of the Atlanta Humane Society.

Critics say HSUS also takes advantage of high-profile events. After hurricane Katrina, HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle promised on national TV to reunite pets with their owners—and raised $34 million for the cause; but public disclosures of where that money went add up to less than $7 million.

The Louisiana attorney general launched an 18-month-long investigation, and it then ended it when HSUS offered to build the state a new shelter.

The HSUS annual report for 2007 showed $120 million in revenue, including $5.4 million just from online donors.

Then there's $112 million in expenses -- most of which appears to have gone to legislation for animal rights bills. The list includes raccoons, mice, wild horses, burros and primates.

The center for consumer freedom says all worthy causes, but HSUS shouldn't mislead to get money.

So where does all the money go?

“It goes to lobbying, it goes to political contributions, it does go to pay huge staff salaries and benefits," said David Marposko with Center for Consumer Freedom.

Channel 2 Action News went to a local HSUS meeting to find out. The two hour discussion was about activist plans and lobbying. The Georgia director for the HSUS agrees that’s mostly what she does.

“I think that in all of our literature, it is very explicit as to what our campaigns are and what we are doing,” said Cheryl McAuliffe, Georgia Director for HSUS. “We help where we can and focus on our programs, which are national and international.”

McAuliffe said there are just too many local shelters to help.

“I always tell people, contribute to your local shelter first,” said McAuliffe.

When asked how much her budget is for the state of Georgia, McAuliffe said she didn’t have a budget and neither did the other states. McAuliffe said all money is controlled from headquarters in Washington, D.C.


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[cloudyandcallie]

WSB is going to owe HSUS a lot of money if they cannot document evrything in the story. And since WSB is asking that the stories be taken down, the station probably cannot prove what they reported.
WSB is a very good station,with some very good reporters, but this reporter is not one of their good ones.

[JSwan]

Ahhh - c&c that's a good point. I know nothing about the station or its reporters but if there was sloppy reporting... taking the story down would be a smart move.