Wyclef Jean defends charity spending

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Musician Wyclef Jean denies allegations he misspent millions of dollars his charity raised to aid victims of the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

The New York Post said Sunday less than a third of the money Jean's organization Yele Haiti raised actually went to emergency efforts. The report also said $1 million went to Amisphere Farm Labor Inc., an organization that didn't file the paperwork necessary to be incorporated in Florida.

But the Miami Herald said Monday Jean is slamming the Post's story as inaccurate and misleading.

"The Post conveniently fails to acknowledge that the decisions that Yele made were a response to one of the world's most catastrophic natural disasters in modern history and required an immediate humanitarian response," Jean said in a statement issued to the Herald. "We made decisions that enabled us to provide emergency assistance in the midst of chaos and we stand by those decisions."

The Herald quoted Jean as saying Amisphere Farm Labor prepared and delivered nearly 100,000 meals to people affected by the earthquake.

He also said his charity "used construction funds to rebuild an orphanage; build a temporary assistance facility, and construct a system of outdoor toilet and shower facilities in Cite Soleil."