ACORN's Pension Shell Games (Possible ERISA Violations)

American Spectator ^ | Oct 7, 2009 | Matthew Vadum

[VRWCTexan]

ACORN appears to have been involved in improper use of pension funds and this lawbreaking may yet land some of its officials in serious legal difficulties.

That's according to F. Vincent Vernuccio, formerly a special assistant at the U.S. Department of Labor (and an American Spectator contributor) and editor of EFCAUpdate.org.

[VRWCTexan]

According to the memo, some of the embezzled funds were taken from ABA using ACORN's American Express card. This displacement of funding led to the creation of a complex repayment system in which Dale Rathke owed ACORN, and ACORN in turn, owed ABA, which, for its part, wrote off part of the money.

[Choose Ye This Day]

ERISA protects plans from mismanagement and misuse of assets through its fiduciary provisions. ERISA defines a fiduciary as anyone who exercises discretionary control or authority over plan management or plan assets, anyone with discretionary authority or responsibility for the administration of a plan, or anyone who provides investment advice to a plan for compensation or has any authority or responsibility to do so. Plan fiduciaries include, for example, plan trustees, plan administrators, and members of a plan’s investment committee.

The primary responsibility of fiduciaries is to run the plan solely in the interest of participants and beneficiaries and for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits and paying plan expenses. Fiduciaries must act prudently and must diversify the plan’s investments in order to minimize the risk of large losses. In addition, they must follow the terms of plan documents to the extent that the plan terms are consistent with ERISA. They also must avoid conflicts on behalf of the plan that benefit parties related to the plan, such as other fiduciaries, service providers, or the plan sponsor.

Fiduciaries who do not follow these principles of conduct may be personally liable to restore any losses to the plan, or to restore any profits made through improper use of plan assets. Courts may take whatever action is appropriate against fiduciaries who breach their duties under ERISA including their removal.

http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_compliance_pension.html

[Jet Jaguar]

ACORN Ping!

FReep mail me if you want on/off the list.

[VRWCTexan]

Will be interesting to see just how much longer the dems and so called MSM will be able to keep ignoring the whole corrupt ACORN mess

I sent it to Drudge - also tweeted it to several in congress - Senate and MSM (so they can’t say they did not know)

[Choose Ye This Day]

Whoops. Wrong thread.

[Future Useless Eater]

http://coraweb.sos.louisiana.gov/CommercialSearch/CommercialSearch.aspx

Total Results: 12

Name	Affiliation	City	Detail
RATHKE, DALE	Treasurer of “ACORN MANAGEMENT CORPORATION, INC.”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, DALE	Secretary/Treasurer of “METRO TECHNICAL INSTITUTE, INC.”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, DALE	Affiliated with “ELYSIAN FIELDS PARTNERSHIP”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, DALE	Director of “NEW ORLEANS COMMUNITY HOUSING ORGANIZATION, INC.”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, DALE	Secretary of “ASSOCIATED REGIONAL MAINTENANCE SYSTEMS, INC.”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, DALE	Secretary/Treasurer of “SIXTH AVENUE CORPORATION”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, DALE	Secretary of “MASSACHUSETTS ACORN HOUSING CORPORATION”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, DALE	Director of “CRESCENT CITY BROADCASTING CORPORATION”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, DALE	Treasurer of “CRESCENT CITY BROADCASTING CORPORATION”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, DALE	Secretary of “SHREVEPORT COMMUNITY TELEVISION, INC.”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, DALE	Secretary of “LOUISIANA ACORN FAIR HOUSING, INC.”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, DALE	Agent of “MASSACHUSETTS ACORN HOUSING CORPORATION”	NEW ORLEANS

Total Results: 29

Name	Affiliation	City	Detail
RATHKE, STEPHEN WADE	Agent of “UNITED LABOR ORGANIZATIONS”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	President of “TEXAS UNITED CITY-COUNTY EMPLOYEES, INC.”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	President of “BALTIMORE ORGANIZING AND SUPPORT CENTER, INC.”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	President of “WORKING FAMILIES ASSOCIATION, INC.”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	Member of “COALITION FOR ECONOMIC JUSTICE IN NEW ORLEANS, L.L.C.”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	President of “CHIEF ORGANIZER FUND, INC.”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	Director of “CHIEF ORGANIZER FUND, INC.”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	President of “ACORN INTERNATIONAL, INC.”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	President of “WAL-MART ALLIANCE FOR REFORM NOW, INC.”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	President of “AFFILIATED MEDIA FOUNDATION MOVEMENT, INC.”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	Director of “UNITED LABOR ORGANIZATIONS”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	Vice-President of “METRO TECHNICAL INSTITUTE, INC.”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	Affiliated with “ELYSIAN FIELDS PARTNERSHIP”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	Director of “PARENT TEACHER GROUP OF CHINCHUBA SCHOOL, INC.”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	President of “GREENWELL SPRINGS CORPORATION”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	President of “BROAD STREET CORPORATION, INC.”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	President of “SIXTH AVENUE CORPORATION”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	President of “FIFTEENTH STREET CORPORATION”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	Director of “FIFTEENTH STREET CORPORATION”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	President of “ACORN BENEFICIAL ASSOCIATION, INC.”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	President of “ACORN FUND, INC.”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	President of “HOUSTON ORGANIZING AND SUPPORT CENTER, INC.”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	Director of “HOUSTON ORGANIZING AND SUPPORT CENTER, INC.”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	Director of “AUSTIN ORGANIZING AND SUPPORT CENTER, INC.”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	Treasurer of “AUSTIN ORGANIZING AND SUPPORT CENTER, INC.”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	President of “MONTANA RADIO NETWORK, INC.”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	Director of “MONTANA RADIO NETWORK, INC.”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	President of “PHOENIX ORGANIZING AND SUPPORT CENTER, INC.”	NEW ORLEANS
RATHKE, WADE	Agent of “PARENT TEACHER GROUP OF CHINCHUBA SCHOOL, INC.”	NEW ORLEANS
2

[Future Useless Eater]

Name	Type	City	Status
CHIEF ORGANIZER FUND, INC.	Non-Profit Corporation	NEW ORLEANS	Active

Business:	CHIEF ORGANIZER FUND, INC.
Charter Number:	35527549 N
Registration Date:	7/29/2003

Domicile Address
	1024 ELYSIAN FIELDS AVE.
	NEW ORLEANS, LA 70117

Status
Status:	Active
Annual Report Status:	In Good Standing
File Date:	7/29/2003
Last Report Filed:	7/31/2009
Type:	Non-Profit Corporation

Officer(s)

Officer:	WADE RATHKE
Title:	President, Director
Address 1:	3041 ST. CLAUDE AVE., 2ND FLOOR
City, State, Zip:	NEW ORLEANS, LA 70117

Officer:	MILDRED EDMOND
Title:	Secretary, Director
Address 1:	3041 ST. CLAUDE AVE., 2ND FLOOR
City, State, Zip:	NEW ORLEANS, LA 70117

[Liz]

ACORN appears to have been involved in improper use of pension funds ..... some of the embezzled ACORN funds were taken from ABA using ACORN's American Express card. This displacement of funding led to the creation of a complex repayment system in which accused embezzler Dale Rathke owed ACORN, and ACORN in turn, owed ABA, which, for its part, wrote off part of the money. (Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...

The Rathke brothers' activities offshore also give rise to concerns about massive govt fraud and money laundering.

Since 1970, ACORN has grown to more than 400,000 member families, organized in 1,200 neighborhood chapters in 110 cities across the US and in cities in Canada, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Argentina and India. (JUSTICE DEPARTMENT COMPLAINT)

ACORN receives funding from a variety of private charitable organizations: the Bauman Family Foundation, George Soros' Open Society Institute, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and from corporate foundations, including JP Morgan Chase Foundation, Ben & Jerry's foundation, Bank of America Charitable Foundation, and Citigroup, as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and foundations affiliated with the founder of United Parcel Service (UPS). (NPR: ACORN's Money Tree Has Many Branches, October 15, 2008).

A full list of ACORN and ACORN affiliate donors is available from the Capital Research Center, a non-profit organization which studies political advocacy groups. (Foundation Watch, 2008: Capital Research Center Cracks the ACORN)

NOTE The IRS has pinpointed tax-exempts and non-profits as the locus classicus for money laundering and tax evasion (stolen money is taxable). The biggest frauds are tax-exempts writing checks to another tax-exempt---the way these "altruistic do-gooders" siphon off, then launder, tax-free monies for themselves.

=================================================

REFERENCE----JUSTICE DEPARTMENT COMPLAINT
January 7, 2009
IN RE: ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS FOR REFORM NOW

EXCERPT The undersigned State Board delegates and National Board members of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (“ACORN”) file this criminal complaint against ACORN Staff and Executive Board members for fraud, embezzlement, conspiracy and concealment, and criminal civil rights violations. Additionally, since there has already been the public admission that a felony was committed, it is also possible that other federal offenses have also been committed including but not limited to;

Title 18 U.S.C. §1341, Mail Fraud;

18 U.S.C.§1001, Presenting a False Document to the an Agent of the United States Government;

18 U.S.C.§1027 False statements and concealment of facts in relation to documents required by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and other possible offenses including civil and/or criminal RICO violations;

18 U.S.C. §§1961-68 (RICO Act);

18 U.S.C. §1001 (False Statements to Agents of the U.S. Government);

18 U.S.C. §1341 (Mail Fraud),18 U.S.C. §1027 (ERISA Violations), and,

18 U.S.C. §241(Conspiracy Against Civil Rights).

Finally, the complainants contend that full investigations of a RICO conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. §1962(c) are warranted because they assert that (1) the defendant persons (2) were employed by or associated with an enterprise (3) that engaged in or affected interstate commerceand that (4) the defendant persons operated or managed the enterprise (5) through a pattern (6) of racketeering activity, and (7) the complaints were injured in its business or property by reason of the pattern of racketeering activity. Thus, the complainants feel that a formal RICO investigation is also warranted.

--SNIP-- 24 pp complaint

SOURCE http://www.acorn-8.net/PDFs/USAttComp.pdf

[Just mythoughts]

Just as the barons of banking paid to play in Bamanation, so did the UNIONs. Now the barons got their bailout, or return for their investment, so now the UNIONs expect their slice of the pie. Socializing health care will literally become a pension bailout.

This in a ‘nutshell’ is about the destruction of the independent, individual middle class.

[FreedomPoster]

That’s useful information right there. Good work.

[CriticalJ]

“ACORN appears to have been involved in improper use of pension funds and this lawbreaking may yet land some of its officials in serious legal difficulties.”

Yeah . . . sure.

[Man50D]

ACORN is only the tip of the BO iceberg. ACORN is connected to SEIU, Apollo and the Tides Foundation.

[Gabrial]

“According to the memo, some of the embezzled funds were taken...”

Wow! Imagine that... Who could have guessed. /s

[amom]

Posts 7 & 8 are of special interest.

[GOPJ]

This displacement of funding led to the creation of a complex repayment system in which accused embezzler Dale Rathke owed ACORN, and ACORN in turn, owed ABA, which, for its part, wrote off part of the money. (Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...

It's time to cap how much "tax free" money can go to any "charity". Most of these helping agencies spend an inordinate time "helping themselves"...

[GOPJ]

I see prison terms in the future for some of these guys...

[maggief]

Good post.

CHIEF ORGANIZER FUND, INC.

Amendments on File (5)
Description Date
Amendment 2/19/2004
Domicile, Agent Change or Resign of Agent 4/27/2004
Domicile, Agent Change or Resign of Agent 7/7/2008
Domicile, Agent Change or Resign of Agent 9/19/2008
Domicile, Agent Change or Resign of Agent 9/14/2009 1:34:47 PM

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

Good work folks - thanks