Calif. Looks Into the Hiring of an Ex-Animal-Charity Leader

The California attorney general’s office is reviewing whether SPCA International impermissibly gave a leadership role to the former head of an animal-rescue charity who was ordered to return millions of dollars in donations to her old organization, says CNN.

The SPCA listed Terri Crisp among its officers and directors in a recent North Carolina state filing. Ms. Crisp, the ex-leader of rescue group Noah’s Wish, agreed in a 2007 settlement with California officials not to “serve as an officer, director or trustee or in any position having the duties or responsibilities of an officer, director or trustee, with any nonprofit organization” for at least five years.

The settlement was prompted by questions over Ms. Crisp’s handling of $8-million raised by Noah’s Wish to rescue and care for animal victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The agreement also required the charity to return $4-million in donations.

Ms. Crisp serves as spokeswoman for SPCA International’s Baghdad Pups program, which helps U.S. troops bring home animals they adopted during wartime service abroad. She told CNN she is an SPCA employee and not a director but said she could not give more detail without permission from the charity.