Wyclef Jean "Charity" Under Investigation!!

It seems like almost every member of the Fugees is having some sort of financial trouble lately. Pras was recently subject of a Local news investigation where he stiffed a studio owner out of thousands of dollars in studio fees. Lauryn Hill is charging for interviews.....apparently she needs the money. And now comes word that Wyclef Jean's charity foundation is about to come under investigation for not properly conducted ethical charity functions.

His charity (Wyclef Jean Foundation) is a charity that's purpose is to help tackle emergency relief, educational assistance and environmental issues in his native home country Haiti. The charity has additional support from mega celebrities Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Turns out though, the charity HAS NOT filed a US tax form since 2000. Hmmm. The NY Post (Who broke the story) said that they spoke with someone inside the charity who said that they have NO IDEA what happens to the money once it arrives in Haiti. It's a "mystery", as they said. Several known projects from the charity is the purchase of a television station in Haiti and other "charitable acts".

The president of the charity did release a statement saying the missing IRS documents would be filed by the years end and they will be back in good standings with the feds. Hmm. Also turns out that the charity has not finished a New York registration form which is required by the states Attorney General's office. On top of that, public records show that Jean himself owes nearly $200,000 to the state of New Jersey in back taxes. Wyclef's statement about the back taxes? He is in the process of paying. Yeah....just how Pras was in the process of paying that studio owner.

Negligence like this is something that isn't new in charities. What is sad is that Haiti has been suffering for a long time and this charity, while we're sure does good things, is not really doing what it could potentially do. There is no doubt that the amount of corruption in the Haitian government is rampant, and this charity is possibly suffering from that corruption.

Just keep ya nose clean Clef! You don't want none with the feds & the IRS.