Military Order of the Purple Heart Leader Allegedly Misused Charity Funds

Wounded Vet Charity Accuses Own Executive of Fraud
Military Order of the Purple Heart Leader Allegedly Misused Charity Funds
By ANNA SCHECTER


The executive director of a charity for wounded veterans that pulls in more than ten million dollars per year in donations has allegedly spent tens of thousands of dollars of the charity's funds inappropriately to benefit foundation executives and given out hundreds of thousands of dollars of donated funds in exchange for family favors, according to current and former executive board members of the Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH).

Richard (Dick) Esau was fired from the MOPH Service Foundation after it brought in a forensic auditor to investigate Esau and the charity's finances, according to Henry Cook, outgoing national commander of the MOPH, and Ray Funderburk, former national public relations director for the MOPH.

"This investigation is ongoing and it's going to get bigger," said Cook. "It is outrageous and unfair to those who donate their hard earned money to help veterans."

The findings of the audit by a forensic independent accounting firm thus far warranted Esau's termination, according to Foundation President James Blaylock. The Foundation's Executive Committee "authorized a continued auditing process into any and all areas that the forensic auditor felt were appropriate," Blaylock wrote in the letter to MOPH members alerting them that Esau was fired.

ABC News reported in November 2007 that the Foundation received an "F" rating from the charity watchdog group American Institute of Philanthropy (AIP) for their extremely high fundraising costs and relatively small percentage of donations that actually went to help wounded veterans and their families.

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http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfAUG08/nf082208-3.htm