According to CBS New York, a
Wyckoff, New Jersey, based charity for Superstorm Sandy is being sued by state
officials for improper use of funds and failure to register as a nonprofit
organization. The suit filed claims that the couple who founded the charity
used donated funds for personal expenses and distributed very little of the
funds to hurricane victims.
John Sandberg and his girlfriend Christina Terraccino
co-founded the Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund (www.sandyrelief.org).
However, they allegedly transferred about $13,000 of the donations to their
personal bank accounts, spent about $4,500 of the money in retail stores,
restaurants, supermarkets, and a home heating oil delivery service. Another
$8,000 was used to pay off personal expenses with a credit card company.
A grand total of $1,650 in gift cards was handed out to
Sandy victims—a number that pales in comparison to the total amount raised,
$631,000 as of January. The website claims that all donations will be used for
food, clothing, supplies, and other efforts to help victims recover.
Sandberg has previously stated that the charity was simply
experiencing “growing pains” and denied claims that it wasn’t a legitimate
nonprofit organization. The couple claimed they had filed for nonprofit status
just after Sandy hit, and that they were simply waiting for official
confirmation. Their website, however, states that it is a tax-exempt
organization when it is not. Now Sandberg has admitted that the paperwork has
not, in fact, been filed but claims they are working on it.
Aside from those red flags, the donation portion of the Foundation’s website lists its full name
as the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund, which is the exact name of a
completely different (and legitimate) charitable organization set up by First
Lady Mary Pat Christie.
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