Durant and Daughter Unlawfully Siphoned $1.4 Million from Charity
LANSING – The Republican nominee for vice president, Congressman Paul Ryan, will visit Michigan today for a campaign stop in Oakland County, but earlier in the day Ryan is scheduled to meet with Clark Durant, who lost the GOP primary for Michigan’s U.S. Senate seat amid controversy that he and his daughter, Hope Durant Loomis, unlawfully profited off a private foundation originally established as a “sponsor-a-child” charity.
“Congressman Ryan has a busy schedule of wining and dining with wealthy donors,” said Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer. “That’s why it’s hard to understand why Ryan is making time to have a photo op with a man facing an IRS investigation for enriching himself at the expense of school children. Surely Ryan’s handlers could have found another prominent Republican in southeast Michigan that isn’t busy on Monday. I wonder if Thad McCotter is available?”
In July, the Michigan Democratic Party filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service against Durant and Loomis, citing the following information, which was analyzed and verified by an independent tax attorney:
- Between 2009 and 2011, Durant and his daughter siphoned about $1.4 million from the Genesis Foundation, a charity Durant founded, which had the stated purpose of helping Detroit children afford private school tuition.
- Over those years Durant and his daughter took 95 percent of all funds donated to the Genesis Foundation for themselves — a clear violation of federal tax laws.
- The penalty for such violations can be as severe as full repayment of all unlawful compensation, plus an initial penalty equal to 25 percent of the unlawful payments. In this case, Durant and Loomis could be forced to repay almost $1.75 million.
In addition, a Macomb Daily story revealed that Durant received an extremely generous benefit package from yet another charity, including an $850 per month car lease allowance, an annual $2,000 book stipend, full health care benefits for Durant and his wife, a $1-million life insurance policy and a six-figure severance if Durant were to quit or be fired.
More information can be found on Clark Durant’s sham charity and the IRS complaint at www.clarkscharityscam.com.
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