CA Attorney General Jerry Brown To Shut Down AIDS Charity Over Massive Fraud

California Attorney General Jerry Brown has filed suit against the Monterey County AIDS Project over at least $2.8M in missing and misspent funds.

Attorney General Jerry Brown said that former officers and directors of the Seaside-based charity took some of the money for personal use and for-profit ventures, which was in violation of a state law and a May 2000 court order that specified $1.8 million be used for housing people with the HIV virus. The complaint also alleges that another $1 million in grants and donations were also misspent. "The duty of these officers and directors was to protect the charity's assets so the funds could be used for the support of very sick people," Brown said. "Instead, they violated their trust and spent the money any way they wanted." Brown said some of the charity's money was spent on meals at expensive restaurants, personal credit card expenses, purchasing items for personal use at auctions, moving and storage expenses, a personal mortgage payment and the steam-cleaning of carpet at a private home.

According to one report, the organization's bookkeeping is in such disarray that much of the money may never be accounted for. The group's website is not accessible at this writing.