Reuters:

The Evidence Against ACORN Mounts: Newly Obtained Whistleblower Affidavits Further Document Abuse of Taxpayer Funds

WASHINGTON, July 31 /PRNewswire/ -- The Consumers Rights League (CRL)
today released newly obtained affidavits from former ACORN and Acorn Housing Corporation (AHC) employees that attest to ACORN and AHC's illegal practice of using taxpayer dollars to fund political activity.
    The affidavits from two former AHC employees, obtained by CRL following the publication of its original report in June, "ACORN's Hypocritical House of Cards," make further specific and damning allegations, including:
    -- AHC and ACORN were at one time being funded from a joint account, which would appear to violate the same laws highlighted by the AmeriCorps Inspector General in 1994.
    -- According to a former ACORN board member and AHC employee, AHC -- which received taxpayer money -- directly used funds to support ACORN activities, including paying for rent at an office where AHC was not even a tenant. -- Perhaps most troubling, the sworn statement of former AHC staffer Andrew Johnson suggests AHC leadership pressured employees to intentionally hide information from HUD investigators.
    Statement from James Terry, Chief Public Advocate, Consumers Rights League:
    "These AHC affidavits are further evidence in a growing litany of
potentially illegal abuses of taxpayer dollars by ACORN and AHC. Members of Congress, who recently doled out millions of dollars to these groups in the housing bailout bill, need to ask some serious questions to ensure that those taxpayer dollars are being spent properly and not illegally supporting political activity, or being squandered by an organization with an already checkered past of voter fraud and embezzlement. In addition to the affidavits, these former employees have offered to assist any investigation with additional information. It is time for Congress, HUD and others to exercise proper oversight and investigate these entities before millions more in public funds are wasted."
    Background:
    In June, the Consumers Rights League released a report exposing the role of ACORN in the nation's housing crisis. The report, "ACORN's Hypocritical House of Cards," included whistleblower documents provided by former ACORN and ACORN Housing Corporation (AHC) employees. The report outlined AHC's repeated pattern of shaking down corporate targets, driving low-income consumers to questionable loan products, and potentially misusing taxpayer funds by
maintaining what appears to be an illegally close relationship with ACORN,which engages in overtly political activity.
    AHC is a federally recognized tax-exempt organization. As such it is not allowed to share funds or provide funding for ACORN. Over a three-year period surveyed for the AHC report that organization took in 40% -- or more than $7 million -- in taxpayer funds. Over the same period, AHC gave grants and paid fees totaling more than $4.6 million to ACORN-related organizations (including Citizens Consulting, from which the brother of ACORN founder Wade Rathke embezzled nearly $1 million).
    The June Consumers Rights League report highlighted the 1994 scandal in which AHC was caught by government investigators for falsely claiming to be a separate entity from ACORN so that it could use taxpayer money for combined operations. The AmeriCorps Inspector General's report concluded:
    "Not only did we find references to ACORN having 'created' AHC to serve purposes common to both organizations, we noted numerous transactions and activities involving 'fraternal' ACORN-related corporations."
    In that case, it was found that ACORN had abused the $1 million grant from taxpayers. The practice seems to have continued as AHC has taken in millions more from public coffers. An alarming internal AHC memo from September 2004 specifically stated: "Total funding from HUD's fair housing initiatives this year is about $650,000 which will provide a good opportunity for ACORN and AHC to work together on housing issues and campaigns."
    About The Consumers Rights League:
    The Consumers Rights League is a non-profit, non-partisan educational organization dedicated to protecting consumer choice and access to the marketplace. Through investigative analysis, CRL produces quality research that thoroughly documents the real-world choices and challenges consumers face and reports on the benefits enjoyed by an overwhelming majority of consumers.
Learn more about CRL's mission at www.consumersrightsleague.org.
    Affidavits and full ACORN report available at the following links:
www.consumersrightsleague.org//UploadedFiles/Affidavit%20Andrew%20Johnson.pdf
www.consumersrightsleague.org//UploadedFiles/Glenda%20Kizee%20Affidavit.pdf
SOURCE The Consumers Rights League