Homeless Organization Is Called a Fraud

United Homeless Organization CertificateJennifer 8. Lee/The New York Times The attorney general’s office has charged that these photocopied certificates of incorporation have been used to mislead people into donating to the United Homeless Organization.

Updated, 12:17 p.m. | They are a familiar sight on street corners across the five boroughs: Men and women standing behind folding card tables, urging passers-by to throw a little change into the empty plastic water jug marked “U.H.O.”

But an investigation by Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo appears to have confirmed what many New Yorkers secretly (if somewhat guiltily) suspected all along: The United Homeless Organization, supposedly a nonprofit group set up to help feed and house the homeless, was actually an elaborate fraud.

According to a complaint filed by Mr. Cuomo [pdf] on Tuesday morning, U.H.O. does not operate a single shelter, soup kitchen or food pantry. It does not provide food or clothing to the homeless. It does not even donate money to other charities that do.

Most of those coins and bills, Mr. Cuomo contended, end up in the pockets of those working the donation tables, who pay a daily fee to the group’s founder and president, Stephen Riley, and its director, Myra Walker, for the right to use the U.H.O. tables, jugs and aprons. The rest of the money, Mr. Cuomo charged, is kept by Mr. Riley and Ms. Walker, and has been used for a variety of expenses not related to U.H.O. business, including expenditures at Weightwatchers.com, Toys “R” Us, P. C. Richard, Bed, Bath & Beyond, and premium cable and electricity bills at their homes.

Those papers that U.H.O.’s workers display on their card tables? Nothing more than copies of the group’s certification of incorporation, according to Mr. Cuomo, used to mislead the public into believing they are permits. Incorporation does not give any special right to solicit on the streets, the lawsuit notes.

“U.H.O. exploits the good intentions of people who thought that their charitable donations were helping to fund services for the homeless,” Mr. Cuomo said in a statement. “Instead, their donations go directly to U.H.O.’s principals and workers, who abused the organization’s tax-exempt status to line their own pockets.”

Mr. Cuomo charged that U.H.O. had failed to maintain any records of donations or expenditures, including at least half of the cash withdrawn from the group’s bank account in 2007 and 2008. Mr. Riley and Ms. Walker also violated state law by operating U.H.O. without any board or independent oversight, and the organization has not held an election for directors since its incorporation in 1993, according to Mr. Cuomo.

It has long been known that the money in U.H.O. is pocketed by the people at the tables. The New York Times wrote about it in 2001, when a program director said the best advocates for the homeless were the homeless themselves. The New York Post likewise wrote about the pocketed money in 2008.

However, the lawsuit is charging improper use of the collected funds, poor accounting, and false claims of how the money would be used.

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No surprise there, I heard this several years ago. I see them in front on Penn Station and on other street corners throughout Midtown. These people should be arrested.

I’ve always suspected that this organization was a scam, and have never given money to any of the street “fundraisers”, all of whom looked to me to be hucksters and con artists.

I guess that my New Yorker “street smarts” work pretty well. Yet, if even I could smell a rat, what took NYS so long to investigate?

always had a feeling this was a scam. never gave a dime. was homeless myself for a while and never got the connection with these tables and actual homeless people in shelters. most tables staffed with beligerent people preying on guilt and tourists. cuomo is great

Certificate of incorporation, not certification.

This is disgusting.

Is this the same group that Arnold Diaz lambasted on his ‘Shame on You!’ segment a few weeks ago? Shame, indeed…..

shameful. i have only dropped chamnge in these a couple of times during 15 years in New York – always seemed shady.

East Village Resident November 24, 2009 · 10:35 am

Thank you, A.G. Cuomo, for finally exposing what I suspected all along.

The group was incorporated in 1993. So how did this fraud go unchecked for 16 years!?!

No surprise here. It was reported years ago that this organization is a fraud.

There is not enough oversight in the US of ALL non-profits including religious organizations.

A detailed spreadsheet of all organizations that do not pay taxes should be on the internet for all including regulators to be able to review.

I only give to the few that disclose in detail all income and all expenses.

Good thing I never gave in and donated to these people.

Sixteen years and no one noticed this?

They always did seem more motivated (louder) than other charities looking for spare change.

Should we still trust Salvation Army bell-ringers? Or should we beware there, too?

Is anyone surprised?

Is this for real? This is absolutely appalling. How could UHO get away with this since 1993? This is entirely inexcusable. Mr. Cuomo, please prosecute these soulless dogs to the fullest extent of the law.

Perhaps the principals could be encouraged to enter into some more legitimate line of work like voter registration, or working for Congressman Rangel.

Thankfully the most I’ve given to these collectors is maybe $1-$5 but their actions are completely shameful.

This group has been around for two decades. I heard these allegations 15 years ago and have never given them money. Why has it taken so long to actually go after these sleazbags?

I’ve felt this was true for years and have always felt so annoyed by their blatantly illegal panhandling on the subways.. handing out food (sandwiches, etc) in exchange for donations or just for free… clearly with no health department permit to be distributing food. I never could feel comfortable eating food that was given to me in that situation where I had no idea how or where it had been prepared..and I always assumed that it was mostly used as a ruse to make people think they were honest so they’d be more likely to get money by appearing reciprocal.

Sad and shameful because it will make New Yorkers cynical in giving to those charities that really need the money and will help the homeless.

The two founders are the lowest of the low if this is true.

I thought everyone knew this.

There was a newspaper story investigating these crooks a few years ago.

They should have been off the streets long ago.

This is a scam from the word go. No accountability public or private- just the personal piggy bank of two greedy thieves masquerading as do-gooders.

Riley and Walker should be arrested and thrown in jail.Maximum penalties,no leniency. Period.