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. Continue Reading