Celebrity charity practices questioned

NEW YORK, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- The way in which certain celebrity-endorsed charities are run skirt along the boundaries of legality, an expert says.

Bennett Weiner, the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance chief operating officer, said simply because a celebrity such as actor George Clooney or singer Bono is attached to a charity, does not mean its practices are perfectly legal, the New York Post reported Sunday.

"You need to have people managing the organization that are well versed in the letter of the law," Weiner said. "Just because a celebrity is associated with a charity doesn't mean they are doing any of this."

A Post investigation into several charities found that former Fugees member Wyclef Jean's charity, Yele Haiti, allegedly has not filed tax returns for eight years.

The Not On Our Watch charity supported by Clooney may fight human-rights issues but it allegedly receives vital funding from an offshore company that conducts Internet gambling, the Post said.

The newspaper said other notable names who were tied to questionable charity practices were models Petra Nemcova and Tyra Banks, along with NFL star Osi Umenyiora and U2 singer Bono.