Yele Haiti — a charity run by former Africana Studies visiting fellow and hip hop artist Wyclef Jean — spent less than a third of its $16 million revenue on emergency relief efforts in 2010, according to a report published by the New York Post on Sunday.

In addition to spending millions on various dubious contracts, Jean’s charity also paid $1 million to Amisphere Farm Labor Inc., a Florida-based firm that “doesn’t seem to exist.”

After the Haiti earthquake struck on January 12, 2010, Jean asked his twitter followers for $5 donations, which immediately came pouring in. Prior to the earthquake, the charity had been especially cash strapped, reporting a $244,000 net loss in 2009.

These allegations mark the second time that Jean’s charity has come under serious media scrutiny for its use of donations. Four years ago, Yele Haiti spent  $250,000 on a Haitian television station jointly owned by Jean and his cousin, Jerry Duplessis. This expense was then publicized in a 2010 report by the New York Post that first criticized Yele Haiti for its spending practices. [Read more →]

It’s been a rough news week for a few choice Brown alums. We’re barely past hump day, and we’ve already got two unfortunate (but still juicy) scandals to report:

Alums Who Do Not-So-Cool Things
It’s over, ladies and gentlemen — Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno ’50 was fired Wednesday night in the wake of the sexual abuse scandal that went public earlier this month. For you Ashton Kutchers who are out of the loop on this one, Paterno reportedly turned a blind eye to former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky’s repeated sexual molestation of young boys in the Penn State football facilities.

Alums Who Report Not-So-Cool Things
This week’s other unfortunate Brown-related scandal saw an alum on the reverse side of things. In an update on the Herman Cain sexual harassment case, Karen Kraushaar ’78 was identified as one of the women with whom Cain settled. Despite having paid the settlement, Cain still maintains that none of this went down. Cain allegedly harassed, Rick Perry stumbled  and Mitt Romney shattered … it’s looking like a good year for Ron Paul!