I think today is the day for me to
come out and tell the true story,
set the record straight.
No money is missing.
Isa and Jai denies he stole anything from
the nonprofit he founded 10 years ago.
I was doing what I had to do.
The West African Community Council,
or WACK, is a hub for West
African refugees in the Northwest.
With a multilingual preschool all
up their way up the coconut tree,
immigration, legal aid,
food, rent assistance,
transportation and more,
In January W African citizens in
Seattle protested after their leader
Issa and Jai was ousted from power.
Legal infighting led a judge to
install what's known as a receiver,
a legal custodian to take
over and sort things out.
Seattle attorney Dan Bugby is
the court appointed receiver.
Have you ever seen anything like this?
No, not to this degree. Not with the
amount of money that we're talking here.
The receiver originally found over
$2,000,000 missing from the books.
Bank records show hundreds of thousands
in donations were transferred from
a secret whack bank account to
the personal account of in Jai.
Some of the money went to buy
this market in Kent and to find
out to the down payment on his
five bedroom home in Seattle.
There's a strategy that led to
that decision. For that money not
to show up on those books, we
need to support ourselves in,
Jai says. In his culture,
many people are afraid of
government supported programs.
To help people in need,
especially during COVID,
he says he put together a plan,
transfer whack donations to himself,
and then give the money away.
Bank records show scores of
checks written out to relatives,
friends and community members.
Here's money from what Nobody's taking it.
Then I started transferring
money to my personal account and
handing folks personal checks.
Folks were taking it.
Some would rather starve.
And then take the money
behind the scenes at WAC.
Children and families are being served.
But news of alleged fraud put the
brakes on important government
funding and put wax future in question
their victims 2 times over.
It's one is that money that was intended
for them that didn't get to them.
The second is it the jeopardy that
this organization has been put on?
Everything was in jeopardy for these
families. I mean, this is the only W
African organization in this. State
Deshia Night is wax
director of Early Learning.
I have families calling me,
crying, upset, fearful,
saying they couldn't afford childcare.
They didn't know where
they were going to go,
legal records show.
In the last few months,
another WAC bank account surfaced,
bringing the total allegedly missing from
more than $2,000,000 to over 3,000,000.
Including a $234,000 federal grant to
support the charity's payroll during COVID.
But records show the money
didn't go to paychecks.
Instead, it helped buy this
home in South Seattle,
purchased by an LLC,
the registered agent for the business,
Issa in Jai.
You want people to believe
that you bought that property,
not to enrich yourself. That is correct.
This money belongs to the community in
Jai says he wants to turn the house
into a mosque or Islamic school.
I do not regret helping people,
but I regret the way I did it.
Records also show about $1,000,000
was transferred into the private
account of one of in Jai's
associates, his brother Mama do.
What did he do with that money?
That money is given to people,
but I think that you know that
that is illegal. I understand.
I understand it is illegal. Don't
you see that as problematic? It's a problem.
We all can do things differently.
But at the moment,
with all the pandemic happening,
you know, people needing money,
needing resources,
I have to act quick.
Whatever would serve their needs,
I would do. In
the last two weeks,
Wack got encouraging news.
Thunders such as the city of
Seattle in King County recommitted
their longterm support.
Everyone here worked hard.
So that our doors won't close,
I've given people cash.
I've given people checks,
I have paid rent directly.
As for Issa and Jai, he says he
deserves a second chance right
now and plans on continuing to
help W African immigrants in need.
I'm going nowhere.
This is my vision.
This is my dream.
I'm still a trusted resources,
people still coming to me.
This one's in my blood and
I don't think anybody can
stop me from doing that.
So far, the receivers recovered $700,000
from a Jai that's gone back to the whack,
and he's trying to get more.
Meanwhile, the Attorney General's
office tells me it's still investigating
how far back this alleged fraud goes
and who else may have been involved.
And many people are probably
wondering what will happen to the
founder with all of this information.
Yeah, he's still out.
He's still in the Seattle area.
You will have to see what the
AG's office does. But, you know,
some people say is he going to be,
you know, charged with a crime,
You know, that would really take the
participation of a law enforcement agency.
And at this point,
it's unclear to us if that's happening.
So there's more to come,
boggles the mind a little bit.
Much more to come, obviously.
Thanks, Suzanna Chair.