CNN 2012-08-16

 We begin tonight Keeping Them Honest on the trail of another charity, yet another charity that does a good job raising money and a great job paying the people who run it. As for actually helping¹ the people they’re claiming to help America’s wounded warriors², that’s another question. And it’s a familiar question to any of our viewers who have been watching us and especially our correspondent Drew Griffin confront charities that take in millions while giving vets³ nearly nothing. In some cases, just some of old shoes or bags of coconut⁴ M&Ms. Drew and his producer David Fitzpatrick have spent years trying to get people from a whole string of charities to explain how your donations, the money that you give, tens of millions of dollars in some cases, end up paying for candies and other useless knickknacks instead of making a difference in the lives of people who makes such incredible sacrifices for us all. So tonight, Keeping Them Honest, they have found another one of these organizations. 

 

 

 

I got to ask you about the money though. I mean, that doesn’t answer any of the questions about the money that they’re, that’s it? That’s all you’re gonna, guys going to say? 

 

 

 

That’s Drew trying to get answers from the president of a group called Help Hospitalized Veterans. Remember that name. Help Hospitalized Veterans, you’re gonna hear more on that shortly. HHV’s mission, it claims, is helping sick and injured war veterans. Sounds very good, reputable, right? The state of California, however, says the man behind so called charity have been helping themselves to excessive salaries and lavish⁵ lifestyles while using accounting⁶ gimmicks⁷ to trick the public into giving even more money. Drew Griffin is in Californian where the attorney general’s office has just filed suit. 

 

 

 

Help Hospitalized Veterans says it’s all about raising the morale⁸ of wounded

 

and sick troops by handing out these craft kits⁹ in hospitals. Kits designed to challenge the mind and help pass the time while vets recover. But California authorities are seeking to make their own recovery. The civil penalties of more than $4 million for misrepresentations in soliciting¹⁰. California says this charity paid excessive salaries, perks¹¹ and conducted illegal deals with donated money. All for the benefit of some board members and officers. 

 

 

 

It is a shell game. And what you, I think what we’ve seen at the end of the day is that instead of focusing their intellectual efforts and energies and the energies of the corporation on getting money to help the folks who are in need of help, our injured veterans, instead, they spend all of their energy, effort and time in these shell games to move money in order to benefit themselves. 

 

 

 

According to the charity’s latest filings, the president of HHV, Michael Lynch, was paid a salary of $389,000. And that’s just the start. In its complaint, California authorities say money donated for hospitalized veterans also paid for memberships in these two country clubs near Lynch’s home, a cost of $80,000. Donated funds paid fro this condominium near Washington, D.C. for the use of charity executives. According to the complaint, while help hospitalized veterans have been raking in millions of dollars, $65 million in just the past two years according to tax returns, the charity has misled the IRS and its donors¹² about where the funds actually go. We know $44 million has gone to fundraising. The charity says it spent $16 million on these kits for veterans but the California Attorney General’s Office questions the charity’s accounting. 

 

 

 

There have been a number of misstatements to the IRS and other regulators in order to suggest that the corporation is much more efficient than it, and in fact, is. 

 

 

 

And it’s not the first time the allegations have been made. California Congressman¹³ Henry Waxman has been trying to sound the alarm on Help Hospitalized Veterans since 2008.

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

3 vets   

abbr.veterans （复数）老手，退伍军人；veterinaries （复数）兽医n.兽医( vet的名词复数 )；老兵；退伍军人；兽医诊所v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的第三人称单数 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• I helped train many young vets and veterinary nurses too. 我还帮助培训了许多年青的兽医和护士。 来自互联网
• In fact, we've expanded mental health counseling and services for our vets. 实际上，我们已经扩大了退伍军人的心理健康咨询和服务。 来自互联网

4 coconut   

n.椰子

参考例句：

• The husk of this coconut is particularly strong.椰子的外壳很明显非常坚固。
• The falling coconut gave him a terrific bang on the head.那只掉下的椰子砰地击中他的脑袋。

5 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

6 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

7 gimmicks   

n.花招，诡计，骗人的玩意儿( gimmick的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Financial institutions are also often expected yield of gimmicks. 金融机构也往往以预期收益率为噱头。 来自互联网
• However these are just marketing gimmicks that propagate the myth. 然而这些只是噱头的营销传播的神话。 来自互联网

8 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

9 kits   

衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件

参考例句：

• Keep your kits closed and locked when not in use. 不用的话把你的装备都锁好放好。
• Gifts Articles, Toy and Games, Wooden Toys, Puzzles, Craft Kits. 采购产品礼品，玩具和游戏，木制的玩具，智力玩具，手艺装备。

10 soliciting   

v.恳求( solicit的现在分词 )；（指娼妇）拉客；索求；征求

参考例句：

• A prostitute was soliciting on the street. 一名妓女正在街上拉客。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• China Daily is soliciting subscriptions. 《中国日报》正在征求订户。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 perks   

额外津贴，附带福利，外快( perk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Perks offered by the firm include a car and free health insurance. 公司给予的额外待遇包括一辆汽车和免费健康保险。
• Are there any perks that go with your job? 你的工作有什么津贴吗？

12 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。