Utah Charity Leader Charged With Fraud
July 10, 2008 | Read Time: 1 minute
A trial has been ordered for a Utah charity leader who has been accused of defrauding individuals who donated to his group, which organized trips for World War II veterans to visit Washington, according to the Deseret News, in Salt Lake City.
Prosecutor Neal Gunnarson charged that Paul W. McSweeney, of the group Our Unsung Heroes, raised money for a 2007 trip to Washington, but much of those gifts instead paid for revenue shortfalls from a previous trip. Mr. Gunnarson also alleged that the charity leader spent some of the approximately $90,000 that the state says was misappropriated to cover personal expenses.
Mr. McSweeney’s lawyer, Guy Black, said his client was an honest man who simply could not generate enough donations to accomplish the goals he had set. Mr. Black said Mr. McSweeney offered to sell an airplane he owned to help cover the charity’s debts. “I don’t think he committed fraud in this case,” Mr. Black said. “The only thing he may be guilty of is not being able to raise enough funds.”
The charity leader is charged with six counts of communications fraud and one count of a pattern of unlawful activity; all the charges are second-degree felonies. Mr. McSweeney’s next court date is August 20.
