State Rep. Tyrone Brooks indicted on fraud, tax charges

ATLANTA - A federal grand jury has indicted state Rep. Tyrone Brooks (D-Atlanta) on charges that he misappropriated almost $1 million in charitable funds.

Brooks, 67, was charged by a federal grand jury in a 30-count indictment that includes charges of mail, wire and tax fraud.

The indictment charges that Brooks misappropriated charitable funds from Universal Humanities, a charity he founded in 1990, and the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials, according to a release from U.S. attorney Sally Yates.

"Mr. Brooks exploited two charitable organizations for his own personal financial gain which came at the expense of the intended beneficiaries of the charitable donations. IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to investigating individuals who use charitable organizations for their personal gain," said Veronica Hyman-Pillot, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation in a statement. "Mr. Brooks defrauded not only the donors but also the American taxpayer by evading his tax obligations. Tax compliance should and must be equally shared among all Americans."

The indictment alleges that Brooks solicited contributions from individuals and corporate donors to combat illiteracy and fund other charitable causes, but then used the money to pay personal expenses for himself and his family. The charges allegedly occurred from the mid-1990s through 2012. . .

Mission Statement

The mission of Universal Humanities is to

1)Protect the interests of poor (low-income) people and other disadvantaged people in the state of Georgia in matters of health, education, public safety, overall welfare, education, civil & criminal justice and employment.

2)To efficiently develop remedies for growing social and economic problems of those in poverty.

3)To stimulate the professional and intellectual advancement of constituents.

4)To advance the study and implementation of solutions to any problems that impede the quality of life for any and all people living in the state of Georgia.

Universal Humanities Scheme

The indictment charges two fraud schemes, the first involving a tax-exempt charity, Universal Humanities, Inc., that Brooks established in the early 1990s. From at least 1995 through 2012, Brooks solicited contributions for Universal Humanities from corporate and individual donors purportedly to combat illiteracy in disadvantaged communities in Georgia and across the southeastern United States, eventually raising more than $780,000. Donors included the Coca-Cola Company ($400,000), Georgia Pacific Company ($140,000), Northside Hospital ($240,000), and others who gave smaller amounts. Brooks made specific false representations in his written solicitations about the work that Universal Humanities was doing to combat illiteracy and how the donated funds would be used, claiming that Universal Humanities had established literacy programs and was conducting workshops and tutoring and mentoring students. He also falsely claimed that Universal Humanities utilized a staff and operated under the direction of a board of directors.

The indictment alleges that in reality, Brooks did not use the donations to promote and address literacy in Georgia or elsewhere, or to retain a staff, occupy office space, fund workshops, hire instructors, or conduct programs attended by students. Instead, Brooks used the money to pay personal expenses for himself and members of his family, including home repairs, furniture, lawn service, life insurance, entertainment, personal credit card expenses, utility bills, food and clothing, dry cleaning, electronic equipment, jewelry, and payments on personal loans, among other personal expenses.

Brooks generally accomplished the diversion of funds by depositing the solicited donations into a bank account he established in the name of Universal Humanities, then almost immediately transferring the funds to a personal account, from which he paid personal expenses. At times, Brooks paid personal expenses directly from the Universal Humanities account.

More specifically, the indictment alleges that:

• Contrary to Brooks’ representations to donors, Universal Humanities never had a functioning board of directors. The individuals listed on the solicitations and incorporation documents were unaware that Brooks had identified them as Universal Humanities board members, and most had never even heard of the organization;

• Brooks represented in a 1999 solicitation that Universal Humanities had been “so successful” in Georgia that it was expanding its programs to other states in the Southeast, and expected to have a projected budget of $500,000. In truth, Universal Humanities did not have an operational literacy program inside or outside of Georgia, nor did it have a projected budget of $500,000;

• Brooks represented in a 2010 solicitation that Universal Humanities’ literacy program, which Brooks called “Visions of Literacy,” consisted of a host of “outlets” created to increase literacy and included activities such as seminars, workshops, tutoring, mentoring, and rallies. Brooks further claimed that Universal Humanities and its “staff ha[d] over 40 years’ experience in assisting U.S. communities through a variety of efforts,” and that 10,000 people would be the direct beneficiaries of the literacy program. In truth, Universal Humanities and Brooks did not operate a functional literacy program, host the literacy activities described in the solicitation, or have a staff;

http://www.11alive.com/news/article/292964/8/State-Rep-Tyrone-Brooks-indicted-on-fraud-tax-charges

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