Cuomo Targets United Homeless Organization in Lawsuit

Those curbside tables manned by people soliciting donations for the United Homeless Organization are nothing more than a scam that funnels money to the bosses at the top, according to a lawsuit filed yesterday by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. You'll recall that UHO founder Steven Riley was deliciously skewered in a classic Fox 5 "Shame" segment last month; now Riley and UHO director Myra Walker are in Cuomo's crosshairs, accused of co-opting "a tax-exempt, charitable corporate structure for their own benefit"—benefits such as paying Riley's bills for cable and Weight Watchers!

The alleged scam is simple: individuals (many of them homeless or on the margins) pay Riley a flat-rate $15 to $25 to rent a table and empty water jug for a four-hour shift. "In exchange for paying a fee to Riley, UHO workers received tables and UHO-branded materials, including a tablecloth, apron and plastic jug, and the right to claim membership in UHO," the suit alleges. After paying the "rent," workers keep the rest—sometimes $80 or more—for themselves, despite telling donors that the money goes to soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters and detox centers.

According to the lawsuit, one worker even admitted to an undercover investigator: "We don't own any shelters or soup kitchens. The money provides us with everyday money." Riley and Walker may have pulled in $100,000 in fees a year, which they allegedly treated "as their personal kitty, dipping into them whenever they choose." They're accused of using the money for a wide variety of personal expenditures, including shopping at the GameStop, Home Shopping Network, Bed Bath & Beyond and P.C. Richard. The AG is now seeking a temporary injunction to shut down the UHO, then ultimately disband it and seek restitution.

In a statement [pdf], Cuomo says, "UHO exploits the good intentions of people who thought that their charitable donations were helping to fund services for the homeless. Instead, their donations go directly to UHO's principals and workers, who abused the organization's tax-exempt status to line their own pockets. The greater tragedy in this is that bad actors like UHO undermine the public's willingness to give to legitimate charities across the state. My office will continue to uncover these unscrupulous organizations and ensure that they don't threaten the generosity of hard-working New Yorkers."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on November 24, 2009 10:53 AM

Comments [rss]

valeriob

It also kills me that they target tourists. The tourists oblige because to them, donating to the homeless makes them more of a real New Yorker. They drop big bills in there too, like they're doing something really great! 10s, 20s, "just take it, the homeless and hungry need it more than I do!"

Just get rid of these beggars and hagglers NOW!

spqrxxi

Good for Cuomo. These people scam the public and are a nuisance on sidewalks to boot.

babyhitler

lesson for everybody. Charity is a scam. Society doesn't need the kind of people who ask for charity. self-serving people. I'd rather give money to a person who'd rather starve than to ask for money.

valeriob

You know what pisses me off the most about these tables? The people at them chain smoke newports like they're going out of style. At 10 bucks a pack, why the hell would anyone directly support their smoking habits?

Noreaster76

I could not agree with you more. Why should I support someone's smoking habit? Or drinking habit, for that matter? It's an instant signal to me that says, "Do not give this person money."

Mr Mel

If the guys manning the jars are truly homeless or jobless and can make $80. a day than the idea has some merit. Those so called scammers are begging so they can eat and/or pay rent. There's an old joke:

Man to beggar "I never give money to a men in the street"

Beggar to Man:

What do ya want me to do, open an office"?

felixthecat2

The Village Voice, lays out the changes made to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by Andrew Cuomo back in the Clinton administration which led to the current meltdown of those companies.

http://www.villagevoice.com/2008-08-05/news/how-andrew-cuomo-gave-birth-to-the-crisis-at-fannie-mae-and-freddie-mac/

felixthecat2

So Cuomo overlooks the big time crooks to focus on a scam that nets less than 200,000 a year. I guess anything for press to keep the sheep at bay.