Ore. Man Charged With Cheating Donors to Charity for His Son
May 15, 2014 | Read Time: 1 minute
Oregon authorities have accused the father of an Iraq War veteran who committed suicide after his tour of duty of collecting donations to a nonexistent charity named for his late son, The Oregonian reports.
Michael Andrew Brennan, 50, of Happy Valley, Ore., was arrested Tuesday and held on $45,000 bond. Investigators say he accepted online gifts to the Matthew M. Brennan Foundation, ostensibly to benefit soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder. The foundation does not have a 501(c)(3) designation.
Matthew Brennan, an Oregon National Guard veteran, killed himself in 2011 after returning from Iraq the previous year. Authorities say contributions to the foundation went into Michael Brennan’s personal bank account and that he persuaded local contractors to donate remodeling services to a Happy Valley home in the foundation’s name.
