Minn. Sues Education Charity over Alleged Fund Diversion

Minnesota’s attorney general has filed suit against a nonprofit that supported high-achieving students from low-income families, accusing its leader of steering hundreds of thousands of dollars in charity funds to personal use, writes The Star Tribune.

A Brighter Day Foundation, which offers opportunities for urban girls to live and attend school in suburban Eden Prairie, Minn., has undergone financial and organizational problems since 2009, including losing its federal tax exemption in 2010 for failing to file Internal Revenue Service forms, the newspaper reports. According to the state lawsuit filed Thursday, the foundation has essentially been defunct since 2012.

Gardner Gay, the organization’s executive director, has spent its money on travel, shopping, and car repairs, according to the suit and to Joe Stoebner, a local businessman and former foundation supporter who is also embroiled in a court fight with the charity’s leader. Neither Mr. Gay nor his attorney returned calls for comment Thursday.