Reality television personality Tareq Salahi received a fine from the Commonwealth of Virginia for alleged violations of Virginia's charity regulations.
The fine was part of a settlement with the Commonwealth, stemming from a multi-year investigation into Salahi's Loudoun County-based fundraising organization, Journey for the Cure Foundation.
Salahi, the chairman of the organization, was accused of making false certifications to the Commonwealth about the charity's finances.
The attorney general's office also alleged that the charity misled contributors about how donations money was spent.
From Cuccinelli's office:
JCF claimed on its Internet web site that "proudly, 100% of our financing goes directly to find the cure and we have no paid staff." Based on bank records obtained through the Virginia Office of Consumer Affairs' (OCA) investigation, the attorney general alleged that only 33% of JCF's expenditures in 2007, and 0.6% of its expenditures in 2008 went directly to disease prevention-related charities. Significant amounts were instead spent on fund raising overhead
The attorney general's office also alleges that the charity filed inaccurate financial statement with state regulators, and solicited in Virginia from 2004 to 2009 without obtaining the proper registration.
In the settlement agreement, Tareq Salahi agreed to pay $2,500 in civil penalties and $7,500 to compensate Virginia for attorney fees. The Journey for the Cure organization will pay $25,000 in civil penalties.
Cuccinelli's office said the settlement, which is in the form of a consent judgment, has been filed for approval with the Fauquier County Circuit Court.
If Salahi were to form another charity in the future and commit similar violations, he could be subject to criminal contempt of court charges.
