Questions Raised About Wyclef Jean's Yéle Haiti Relief

Questions have been raised about rapper Wyclef Jean's Yéle charity, founded four years ago, which has been very successful in raising funds via text message following the earthquake in Haiti. At issue are high administrative costs, accounting practices, and payments to companies owned by Jean. Among examples of "bad accounting" cited are filing three years worth of tax returns in one day, expenses exceeding revenues in 2007, and the involvement of Jean's music business partners in his charity. Questions have been raised by a number of publications, including the Washington Post, Washington Post, ABC News,and the Smoking Gun.

Do note that some of the big-name charities in the world do not always meet all the standards for charity accountability for example, a very famous charity Doctors Without Borders USA does not pass on the charity accountability standards according to the Better Business Bureau. Neverthe-less, a quick look at the returns, the Yele website, and the news articles would suggest caution, and limiting oneself to a very small contribution, if at all.