US: Trump Inauguration Official Accused of Embezzling Ohio Disaster Funds
By Staff, Agencies
The Intercept reported that President-elect Donald Trump's team hired a man who was on the board of a nonprofit accused by the Ohio attorney general of embezzling funds intended for victims of the Norfolk Southern train catastrophe in East Palestine, Ohio.
Patrick Lee, the inaugural committee's deputy director and public liaison, was on the board of the Ohio Clean Water Fund, an LLC founded in Ohio days after the train crashed in February 2023.
Trump's visit to East Palestine became a focal point in his presidential campaign. The Ohio Clean Water Fund, claiming to represent the Second Harvest Food Bank, raised over $141,000 for families affected by the East Palestine disaster. However, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost's office later described the collaboration as fraudulent, with the food bank denying any connection.
Despite this, the Ohio Clean Water Fund sent the food bank $10,000 while keeping the remaining $131,000, according to the attorney general's office.
Yost subsequently described the Ohio Clean Water Fund as a "sham charity", saying it "must turn over more than $131,000 in pocketed donations so the money truly does benefit East Palestine."
A lawyer for Lee denied the allegations, stating that the payment made by Lee's organization was not an admission of guilt. Lee, not officially named as a defendant, did not address his involvement with the Ohio Clean Water Fund, which shared an address with his Virginia home.
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