There is a new call for an investigation into Bryant Corky Messner’s charity, this time with Colorado’s former chair of the Colorado Nonprofit Association board of directors.
“He is using his foundation for political purposes,” said Tom Downey.
Downey, also a retired Colorado Secretary of State official who oversaw non-profits for the state, said Messner’s charity, the Messner Foundation, is not serving its stated purpose of helping disadvantaged Colorado kids pay for college.
“This looks like an abuse, instead of serving the community he was using it purely for public relations purposes,” Downey said in a Monday interview.
Downey has sent a formal complaint to the IRS, asking for an investigation into Messner’s organization. Downey’s complaint states that the Messner foundation, “failed to make required distributions, engaged in self-dealing and used foundation use for political purposes, which are all conduct “antithetical to the purposes underlying the privileges granted under the charitable sections of the IRS Code.”
A Washington Post investigation found that The Messner Foundation over the course of 10 years raised large sums of money to pay for scholarships for low income students. In its first 10 years in existence, however, the foundation had paid out one scholarship. Messner’s foundation also paid out $50,000 to the private school his son attended, Colorado Academy, for the construction of athletic fields. Messner’s campaign is also using the foundation in its campaign literature, which Downey said is a violation of the law.
“People can’t just use a foundation for their own purposes. You need to follow the rules and serve the community appropriately,” Downey said.
Messner, a Colorado attorney, recently moved to New Hampshire and is now running as a Republican for the United States Senate against Democratic incumbent Jeanne Shaheen. Downey said Messner is a known quantity in Colorado, and it has been strange seeing him seemingly suddenly running for office in another state.
“It’s odd for Coloradans to see him declare his candidacy out there,” Downey said.
Downey filed his complaint with the IRS earlier this month. Mike Biundo, Messner’s senior campaign advisor, dismissed the complaint as partisan politics. Downey’s complaint accused Messner’s charity of committing federal felonies.
“An independent audit was conducted, and what it found was exactly what we knew all along. The Democrats here in New Hampshire are so desperate to save the 30-year career of DC Jeanne Shaheen that they will trot out every single has-been political hack in the country if they have to. The audit and their desperation speak for themselves,” Biundo said in a statement.
Two retired justices from the Colorado Supreme Court signed off on a complaint in August, sent to the Colorado Secretary of State and the state Attorney General, tasing for an investigation. The Colorado Secretary of State is investigating the Messner Foundation.
