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Tareq And Michaele Salahi's Journey For the Cure Charity Scam
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by Yuliya Talmazan | December 1, 2009 at 01:59 pm
6133 views | 6 Recommendations | 15 comments
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Tareq and Michaele Salahi have shocked the nation when they managed to slip through the tight cracks of the White House Security on November 24 and show up to a state dinner packed with international dignitaries and top corporate executives. Immediately, the couple's bold gate-crashing move was deemed a case of shameless fame-seeking. Backed by reports that Michaele Salahi was auditioning for a reality show, the general public just seemed to assume that all that the Salahis were after was instant fame. But, was excessive narcissism the real motivating factor that got the Salahis to gate-crash the White House dinner? Or, was there another reason that made the Salahis take the risk with the White House Security that they likely suspected would sooner or later notice the security breach?
Well, it turns out the Salahis are behind a charity called Journey For the Cure, which claims to be a non-profit charitable foundation supporting children related charities. The charity website looks somewhat dodgy featuring images of wine, grapes and vineyards on the homepage. The Salahis hold a wine-making business, but what relation there is between a children's charity and wine-making is a little unclear. It is known, however, that the Salahis' winery was on the brink of bankruptcy and is in the process of being refinanced to reopen in 2010. The contact information available on the site is also very sparse: a generic info email and a PO box address with no phone numbers or contact forms. There is barely any information about what the charity does, how much money is raised or where the money goes. But, the questionable charity raised concerns on the highest levels all the way back in May. A Virginia-based newspaper unearthed that the charity did not submit financial records about fundraising contracts to the State Corporation Commission. Consequently, the state of Virginia had to issue a warning against charitable solicitation by the Journey For The Cure Foundation.
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Office of Consumer Affairs cautions consumers that Journey for the Cure Foundation, 14141 Hume Road, Hume, Virginia, has solicited contributions from Virginia citizens for allegedly charitable purposes. However, as of May 13, 2009, this organization has not registered with or been granted the appropriate exempt status by the Commissioner as required by law. Therefore, contributors are cautioned that their contributions to such organization may be used for non-charitable purposes.
Another event that the Salahis organized was the America's Cup Polo Match. The Salahis alleged that the proceeds from the Polo Cup would go toward the Journey For the Cure, the very charity that the government of Virginia has warned against donating to. The Polo Cup was founded by Tareq Salahi and is sponsored by Land Rover, which now belongs to Tata Motors, an Indian automotive company. The polo match will have India challenge the United States. Among confirmed attendees are representatives from the Embassy of India in the United States, including Indian Ambassador Meera Shankar. Incidentally, the November 24th State Dinner at the White House was dedicated to Indian Prime Minister Manmhan Singh and attended by numerous Indian dignitaries and business professionals, which made for some convenient networking opportunities for the Salahis. So, did the couple crash the White House dinner to market their upcoming America's Cup Polo Match? Was the State Dinner really just a networking opportunity for the Salahis?
What is your take? Do you think that the Salahi style gate-crashing was really a case of red-carpet mania, or a bold networking attempt gone wrong?
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Yuliya Talmazan
Burnaby, Canada
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (15)
at 14:56 on December 1st, 2009
Unbelievable! They are scam artists and they should be put in jail for the fraudulant charity events! They should be ashamed of themselves!!!
at 15:55 on December 1st, 2009
Are we not all bored reading and hearing not only about this couple but others looking for stardom. Come on what ever channel i turn on I've got some fool been filmed and whats even worse thousands interested in them. House wife's of Jersey, Atlanta and so i hear soon to be House Wife's of Washington with this stupid women no doubt being the lead food. Is it not all gone on longer enough watching both men and women eating breakfast, screaming at each other, talking about nothing and thinking they are super stars. The sooner we all stop watching them the better, 1- Throw them in jail for breaking the law 2- TV producers start writing entertaining shows again and not filming these clowns
at 10:39 on December 3rd, 2009
And yet you still take the time to read and post about these two con artists? I guess you answered your own question because you are not bored reading and hearing about them...
at 18:45 on December 1st, 2009
Great investigative reporting!! WoW. The plot thickens....
at 18:57 on December 1st, 2009
Sounds like college students crashing a wedding reception...for the food.
at 14:28 on December 2nd, 2009
Is anything about this couple for real? Or is there entire life one giant fabrication???
at 14:33 on December 2nd, 2009
weird website....not much info as to what they have given to. What is up with the 3 pics on the homepage. I hope the whole gate crashing bruhaha snowballs into these folks reaping what they have sown.
at 08:38 on December 3rd, 2009
Sure glad that the Commonwealth of Virginia is looking into these two nasty people and their 'so called' charity. I hope they throw the book at them for their lying ways, they won't be missed.
at 13:36 on December 3rd, 2009
Now the whole thing is starting to make sense. A well thought out plan to get in the door and market the event to people with the wealth and means to inlarge the bank account. As with all less than legitimate efforts the "what if this goes horribly wrong question" was not uttered by either of the participants prior to the execution of said plan. Execute plan B: Lie.Lie,Lie,Lie
at 18:15 on December 3rd, 2009
Even the "cheerleading scam" was years in the making. Michaele-AKA Melissa-AKA Missy- conned the Washington Redskins Cheerleading Alumni to put her on the 1991 Alumni roster. This was a couple of years ago. This allowed her to become a ue-paying member which in turn allowed her to participate in alumni events and thus appear to have been a WRS cheerleader. It is beginning to seem like they are true grifters; in for the "long con."
at 14:46 on December 3rd, 2009
To paraphrase a line from "Ghostbusters", "They are consummate snowball artists of the lowest kind!" I'll be quite interested to know all the "underpinnings" of their "charitable" endeavors!
at 13:22 on December 7th, 2009
the are con men and so are all their friends
at 13:29 on December 7th, 2009
the press should look into their best friends/neighbor tony hobbs boiardi. apparently he was awarded "man of the year" from the Lymphoma Society. claimed he had cancer but it can't be verified. its rumored that it was all a scam and the lymphoma society fell for it hook, line and sinker. the lymphoma society was one of the charities Tareq claimed to have given money too....sounds like they were all in bed together.
at 17:22 on December 7th, 2009
From the now defuct Journey for the Cure Foundation web site: Welcome back to the Journey for the Cure Foundation Event Site. We are proudly supporting the MS Society, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and other charitable organizations. We specfically fund research to find cures for these associated diseases. Proudly, 100% of our financing goes directly to find the cure and we have no paid staff or employees.
at 11:38 on December 16th, 2009
I am not sure when the new washington subculture of grifters started. It used to be back in the 80's that it mattered where you went to private school and which club you belonged. Now it seemes the big ticket is which hair salon you frequent and which open to the public party you donated 50 bucks to attend. So sad.