Bev Harris did NOT donate Qui Tam money as repeatedly claimed (2nd year),

[troubleinwinter]

according to BBV's recent 2nd year IRS tax report form 990 (2006) posted recently Guidestar.

Bev has always claimed that the proceeds from the Qui Tam suit would be donated to BBV.org.

The award was made near the end of BBV's first fiscal filing year, and according to BBV website was deposited and would be shown on the 2nd year filing.

It was claimed that it was donated in the first fiscal year (July 2004-June 2005):

Jan-18-05 BBV.org

California is expected to compensate Harris and March for their original research, which developed the case. The exact figure has not yet been determined by the courts, but the initial proposed settlement allocates around $76,000. Bev Harris’s compensation will go to Black Box Voting, as a restricted contribution which must be spent specifically on additional consumer litigation to protect election integrity.

http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/2291.html

Mar-09-05 DU, by 'Bailey77' (exposed sock puppet)

Harris agreed at the outset of the case, and has gone on record with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, that the proceeds will be donated as a restricted donation and must be used for further litigation for voting reform.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=340188&mesg_id=340564

May-17-05 Free Republic

My annual donations to Black Box Voting: $70,000, from a Qui Tam settlement just received, my donation checks to be posted online this month.
Bev Harris
Executive Director
Black Box Voting, Inc.

http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-bloggers/1405019/posts

Jun-24-05 BBV.org

Black Box Voting founder Bev Harris, awarded $76,111.11 from Diebold Election Systems on a California false claims case, has donated $68,500.47 to Black Box Voting

http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/6738.html?1138983767

May-06-06 BBV.org

Black Box Voting has assisted Funk in securing qualified legal counsel and is underwriting the public policy legal actions to defend Funk against Diebold's actions -- ironically, with Diebold's own money, won in a Diebold false claims suit in California. A $76,000 fee was paid to Black Box Voting founder Bev Harris, and was subsequently contributed as a restricted donation for public interest litigation. The Diebold money is now helping support the fight by whistleblower Stephen Heller, who is facing retaliatory action by Diebold's attorneys. Diebold false claim funds are also underwriting legal actions to help Bruce Funk fight Diebold's retaliation.

http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/27634.html?1147234519

But then it hadn't been donated in the first year, but supposedly in the second fiscal year (July 2005-June 2006):

Jul-17-06 BBV.org

There have been hundreds of posts questioning why the 'qui tam' settlement donation by Bev Harris has not been reported in the first year financial documents. The answer is really quite simple.

Although the settlement check from Diebold was delivered to the State of California in May as reported on this site, the State then had to cut a check to Lowell Finley's law firm (Plaintiffs Attorney) for their percentage of the settlement moneys after legal fees, and subsequently, the law firm had to draft separate checks to the plaintiffs. (Bev Harris and Jim March) Bev then had to wait for her check to clear before she could draft a check to BBV.org for the 90% left after 'tithing' 10% to her church. All of this took time that resulted in the check being delayed till late June. Black Box Voting's Board of Directors then had to wait till their next scheduled meeting to seek legal advice and discuss how best to segregate these funds from their other account to ensure that they were properly accounted for and protected against misuse.

It was determined that a separate 'Legal Trust Fund' should be established for litigation purposes to best assure proper accounting.

The fund was set up and the check deposited on July 05, 2005, placing it in the second fiscal year finances of the organization. Look for it in the next 990 report.

http://www.bbvforums.org/cgi-bin/forums/board-profile.cgi?action=rate&topic=1954&page=17778&post=26047

Jul-17-06 BBV.org

Pat Vesely is also correct that the Qui Tam donation I made to Black Box Voting was deposited in our second fiscal year. I'm not positive it was July 5, but it was around then. I don't think the separate fund is a trust, it's just a separate bank account restricted to supporting litigation. It has so far supported the following actions: Public interest litigation defense for Stephen Heller, Bruce Funk, a public records lawsuit for ballot images, and libel actions against Diebold and Diebold employee Rob Pelletier.

http://www.bbvforums.org/cgi-bin/forums/show.cgi?tpc=1954&post=26047#POST26047

The second year 990 form filed with the IRS now posted on Guidestar shows no such donation.



WHY? After more than two years of claims that she would donate the proceeds of the Qui Tam suit to the cause, after claiming in the first year that it HAD been donated first year, then claiming that it HAD been donated in the second year, and that we would see it on the 990..... WHY is it not there?




WHY is are there NO figures for the current year on Schedule A?
WHY is it claimed that no Schedule B is required (indicating NO such donation)?

If the money had been donated (using the claimed donation amount of $68,500), Schedule A would look about like this:




WHY? WHERE IS IT?

[Catherine Vincent]

1. Because Bev Harris is a liar?

:shrug:

[troubleinwinter]

54. Hahahahaha!!!!!! I just clicked on your sig link! Haaaahaaaahhhaaa!!!

[Hawkeye-X]

2. Because Bev is a true-blue Republican through and through?

Note that Bev, before she started BBV, sold Clinton cigars.

And Bev is a Freeper also, as noted above (was even a moderator!)

Hawkeye-X

[Morgana LaFey]

45. I don't think she's principled enough to be a Republican

And yes, I DO realize how low that bar is.

I think she's just a class-A Opportunistic sociopath.

[BeFree]

3. Gawd

Not again. Isn't there something better to spend our time on? Yes, there is. Plenty. Just do it.

[EFerrari]

13. Really? I think our stance on felony should be "never give up

never give in".

:rofl:

[bettyellen]

20. she has tried to fundraise here again, so fuck her, and anyone who minimizes the shit she pulled

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

34. Definition of QUI TAM

BeFree, this isn't in response to you, but a way to get this definition up at the top
where it can be seen better. (Sorry BeFree).

Qui Tam

Qui tam is a legal provision in the United States under the False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. § 3729 et seq.), which allows for a private individual, or whistleblower with knowledge of past or present fraud committed against the U.S. federal government to bring suit on its behalf. Its name is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase “qui tam pro domino rege quam pro se ipso in hoc parte sequitur,” meaning “he who for the king as well as for himself." This provision allows a private person, known as a “relator,” to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the United States, where the private person has information that the named defendant has knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false or fraudulent claims to the United States. The relator need not have been personally harmed by the defendant’s conduct.

The False Claims Act provides incentive to relators by granting them between 15% and 30% of any award or settlement amount. In addition, the statute provides an award of the relator's attorney's fees, making qui tam actions a popular topic for the plaintiff's bar. Indeed, a private person may not be able to commence a qui tam action "pro se" -- that is, without representation by a lawyer -- since the private person is actually representing/filing the suit on behalf of the government and that may only be done by a lawyer.

Once a relator brings suit on behalf of the government, a U.S. Attorney for the district in which the suit was filed has the option to take over the case. If he or she does so, the government will usually notify the company or person being sued that a claim has been filed. Qui tam actions are filed under seal, which has to be partially lifted by the court to allow this type of disclosure. The seal prohibits the defendant from disclosing even the mere existence of the case to anyone, including its shareholders (a fact which may cause conflicts with the defendant's obligation under SEC or stock exchange regulations that require it to disclose lawsuits that could materially affect stock prices). The government may then, without disclosing the identity of the plaintiff or any of the facts, begin taking discovery from the defendant.

[countingvotes]

58. Absolutely agree

there are more important issues facing us all.

[LoZoccolo]

4. .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcowWn6ilgA

[Maddy McCall]

5. Why anyone ever donated anything to a person with...

the history of charlatanry that she has, I'll never know.

I hope that she gets busted by the IRS, and SOON.

K/R

[aquart]

6. And the rest of the money listed?

Was that also stolen or misused?

(I love a good obsession. Endless harping is pleasant, too.)

[troubleinwinter]

7. Look

at the forms yourself. She claims $10,000 in "casualty and theft".

[Einsteinia]

8. Personally, I don't think it matters one iota!

But that's my opinion.

[troubleinwinter]

9. It matters to me when someone lies in my face.

[EFerrari]

11. You must be extremely flexible.

[bettyellen]

21. how can she claim to be pro- integrity about ANYTHING?

hi Bev! :hi:

[flyarm]

23. does it matter to you that little lord pissy pants has lied and stolen our votes?

why would lying by one person or party bother one..and yet lying by someone in election reform does not bother you one "IOTA"??

LYING IS LYING..LIARS ARE LIARS...Thieves are theives...


personally..once lied to by someone..i am done with them ..period...but i believe one's integrity is a very important value..once lost ..it is lost ...trust is earned...and if someone bold faced lies to me..like bev has ...( and not just to me..but to all who trusted her, funded her, and believed in her ) she has lost all her integrity, and lost all reasons for trust!

If some do not think truth or integrity and credibility matter..i say move on..you have no credibility..

But those of us who believe in the very values we fight for ..as in truth.. in our elections and those who represent truth in elections..please do not tell me that persons consistant lying does not matter "one iota"...

it matters...

to me , it is the very essence of who we are ...

it is why i am on DU and have been a Dem delegate for the state of Florida..it is why i have worked so hard to stop the lies and deceit of this current administration...

to me truth and integrity , and credibility ..are everything i hold dearest to me.


so it does matter a great big "IOTA" ..to me!!

I was in Fla in 2004 when bev lied and i was part of a testing of the machines that occured in Fla, when Bev lied and when those of us who had our votes stolen donated and counted on that woman to stand by her words..she didn't..and she lied and lied and lied...


It MATTERS!

fly

[MLFerrell]

24. A little ellipses-happy, are we?

Oh, and traditionally, one uses THREE periods...sparingly.

[troubleinwinter]

26. Traditionally,

one addresses CONTENT rather than style.

[flyarm]

27. FUNNY...

How you totally missed what i said ..for how i typed it!!

I guess you have missed my previous posts stating that i became a flight crew for 33 yrs..so i would not have to type for a living !

I sincerely found traveling the world and working with human beings exciting..typing was the most boring and dreadful excercise i would ever have to do in my lifetime!!

But if you ever need to be evac'd off an aircraft in an emergency..i would be the one you wanted saving your life...and i doubt very much you would give a rats ass how well i typed!!

2001 flight attendant of the year..NYC base..which encompasses LGA/EWR and JFK for one of the airlines involved on 9/11......and i still can't type worth a damn!! ( pretty long nails too!!)

fly

[MLFerrell]

28. LOL.

[flyarm]

31. Truth is truth..nothing funny about it...with truth comes awakening!!

please read this thread by:


IChing ...it is excellent!!



thank you

IChing





The Unearthing: An Awakening Has Arrived
by Manuel Valenzuela


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x273351

The suppression of truth has long been among the highest priorities for the upper echelons of power and authority.
For a minority elite that clings to power by the manipulation of the masses using an omnipresent cocktail of lies,
deception, mass- produced ignorance and ingrained propaganda, the destruction of truth is an essential method
of control. It is a formula that has worked to unmitigated success for the elite throughout history,
whether the shadows of power stretch from ancient pyramids, marble temples, castles, mansions or halls of governance.

With Truth Comes Awakening


These entities understand that truth is like a massive breath of fresh mountain air, pure and energizing, refreshing and invigorating, and that once inhaled by the masses, the balance of control can easily be disturbed and seriously threatened. Revolution of the many against the few oftentimes results, mostly to the enormous detriment of the powerful. They know that widespread circulation of the truths of what they have done in the past and are at present doing to the majority could light a flame onto a massive cauldron overflowing with dry kindling, sparking an enormous inferno of anger. Truth, in short, could lead to an awakening of hundreds of millions of human beings who for too long have had their minds held captive by the instruments of control used by those in power.

http://www.pacificfreepress.com/content/view/1100/81/




flyarm edit....this could be said of how i feel about Bev Harris!!..i want the truth of what this woman has done exposed..some may not like it ..but tough...with truth comes awakening....

fly

[EFerrari]

39. Right on, fly. IT MATTERS.

We can't be the election INTEGRITY movement with no INTEGRITY.

[kster]

10. Does this fall into Election reform or Tax reform? Moderators? ..nt

[EFerrari]

12. Bev was banned for a reason. n/t

[kster]

14. Do you think we should Hand Count the Paper Ballots,, nt

[EFerrari]

15. Non sequitur.

[bettyellen]

22. We should have hand counted our donations. She didn't report half of them.

[kster]

16. Non sequitur

[EFerrari]

38. We've done this so many times, we should just call out numbers.

#33.

It's all right, kster.

[bettyellen]

43. non reported income and donations!

[Kelvin Mace]

50. Nope, entirely relevant

the issue at hand is Bev's bad conduct and lack of ethics.

She threatens people who ask legitimate questions about how she does things.

[troubleinwinter]

37. It falls into 'Demanding Truth and Accountability' forum.

The thread does not relate to reforming tax law, does it?

It relates to the founder and director of an election reform organization who claimed to have donated proceeds from an election related lawsuit to the cause of election reform and questions about her truthfulness and accountability.

[Kelvin Mace]

49. Yes, it has to do with election reform

As long as Bev keeps soliciting money for the issue, people need to know where the money goes.

[Kolesar]

17. Your post should have had some explanation of what "Qui Tam" is or means

For somebody like me just jumping into the story, there is no way of knowing what this is about.

[OnTheOtherHand]

19. it's there, but yeah, you have to read the fine print

The core idea of a "qui tam" suit is that someone is suing on behalf of the government. As an incentive, whoever does this can get a percentage of the proceeds, if any.

So, Diebold was sued for false claims in a "qui tam" suit, Harris and March got a 'cut' of the settlement, and now we're trying to figure out where Harris's share of the money went.

It seems that the choices are: either Harris kept the money despite claims to the contrary, or BBV's 990 filings are FUBAR. There may be a "Third Way," dunno.

[troubleinwinter]

25. Looks to me like it's the "Third Way"

Third Way: Harris kept the money AND the 990 filings are FUBAR.

Too bad BBV didn't apply some of Bev's $90,000 salary to hiring a CPA.

[OnTheOtherHand]

36. good point, I posed a false choice

I don't know where the money is, but I know it's damn strange to (selectively) submit the same financials two years in a row.

[EFerrari]

40. Apparently it's not in BevWorld. n/t

[eridani]

56. Very, very strange indeed

How is it possible that income from all sources is identical down to the last dollar for two straight years?

[troubleinwinter]

57. No, the income is not the same....

Second year figures were not entered on the 2nd year form. First year was simply resubmitted (but were not claimed to be anything other than first year). No second year figures were submitted on this page at all, which is bizarre in itself, but what is even stranger is that line 26c was changed to be wrong!

Both years should have been reported on the second year filing in this section, as the number calculations in Line 26a,b,c,d,e,f are supposed to use the combined totals of both years.

Whoever prepared this form is utterly incompetent and incapable of reading simple instructions, or is trying mightily to hide something.

WHY was this form not prepared by a CPA???

[symbolman]

18. Kick

You know TIW, from what I understand there is a REWARD for anyone who can prove that someone has Bilked the IRS, I think they get a percentage of the damage to the govt - from what I'm looking at here, it looks like you've done your homework.. I can't say for sure as I'm no accountant, but I DO know that she's lied to me, more than once..

Amazingly enough she's actually got people of substance who've been sending out emails that I know I've received, and I've been out of this loop for over a year, and I mean BIG NAMES in the movement. Just like Bush, people seem to forget all about the graft, and want to have a beer with him..

Considering that folks on the DU were TRICKED into donating a huge sum of money to this crooked person, I'd love to see her GIVE THEIR MONEY BACK to the DU at least..

I'll have my wife look at these figures, she knows all that stuff :)

Glad someone is keeping an eye on this!

Of course the BevBots will swarm you know - "Awe gee, she just stole your car, crashed it into a bunch of people and property, and then let the cops come to your house.. what's the big deal? She'll buy you another, as a matter of fact, she's buying us ALL CARS! Whoopee!!" :)

[troubleinwinter]

29. Speaking of letting the cops come to your house....

I can't find the claimed $10,000 donation to Stephen Heller's legal defense fund on this form.

Monday, April 24, 2006 -Bev Harris

Black Box Voting has contributed $10,000 to Heller's defense.

http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/27423.html?1145916392

Point out Part II, lines 22 & 23. See if she can find $10,000 donation to SHLDF anywhere anywhere in this filing.

Also, if your wife wants a good laugh, have her check out the grand total of $26 in earned interest on well over a million dollars collected (nonfeasance, misfeasance and malfeasance are interesting words to know).

[symbolman]

32. I'll send this link over to her

she'll find it interesting, and yes, she knows what those words mean too :)

Should be a wanted Poster for that woman all over the web..

[flyarm]

35. "Should be a wanted Poster for that woman all over the web.."

oh symbolman ..i couldn't agree more!!

she had to shut Andy down..because he found out who her allegiance was to...and it sure was not election reform!!


Happy Easter my dear friend Andy..i miss you ...and your truth...

fly

[Sydnie]

42. Sounds like a job for SwampRat!

Couldn't agree more!

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

30. Happy Easter?

I got outed too, for "mis-behavior".

[troubleinwinter]

33. I guess you are referring to

the fact that Bev Harris posted my personal information on her website the day before last Easter. I immediately began receiving a number of hang-up & creepy phone calls. She had obtained my name and address from a 990 copy request made ten days before (the law requires a copy to be supplied to any member of the public).

When I found out about the posting early Easter morning, (after an evening of crank-calls) I went to her discussion board. Bev and a couple of her board members complained that I was interrupting their Easter holiday.

You were outed for "mis-behavior" as judged by the Supreme Determinator of BBV?

"Mis-behavior" Hahahahahahaha!!!!!!! Hahahaha!!

[EFerrari]

41. I give you all the credit in the world for following through on this.

Thank you for the reality check.

If our house isn't in order, the disarray undermines the whole project. It baffles me that people don't seem to understand that.

Oh, and fuck you, Bev, for what you did to Andy.

[fooj]

46. It's all about INTIMIDATION with these people.

Projection and deception...(like my elipses?B-) )

Rove's MO revolves around fixed elections. It's the only way these criminal rat bastards can retain their power. How many "scandals" involve Rove's election BS? Deceive, deny and project. If that doesn't work...ATTACK! Most importantly, make certain there is perpetual chaos. Obstruction at its finest. It's hard not to consider the distinct possibility that certain activists may be a part of the grand scheme of things after reading this post. That's how it goes when you've lost people's trust. Actions speak louder than words.

We PROMISED Andy we wouldn't stop until we found and exposed the truth. Thank you for helping us honor our commitment to our dear friend.

Here's the good news...

Their bullshit doesn't work like it used to. I do believe that thier number is just about up.

[bettyellen]

44. tks TIW for the update... I remember Andy began to distrust Bev because of how she handled this suit

He said she'd claim one thing and do another- took his name off of it (without telling him) even though he did a large part of the research- because she said she would not take a monetary settlement. No wonder she went after Andy so hard- he caught on to her bullshit.

[fooj]

47. Absolutely.

Worse than chicken shit!

[ebayfool]

48. Well, there's a big surprise (ha!) - she lied AGAIN!?

TY for the update, Trouble. Don't you just know that she agrees w/your screen name? :rofl:

When it all catches up w/her, it's gonna hurt (I hope!). Her karma call is waaaaay overdue.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

51. could that amount be - after - paying taxes on Qui Tam?

just trying to find a logical explanation.

Also, how could nearly $1 million earn only $26.00 in interest?

Ouch!

[troubleinwinter]

52. Not sure which "amount" you are referring to.

If you are referring to the supposed $68,500, that's the amount she claimed to have donated after she supposedly tithed 10% to church. Wonder if the church ever saw any of it.

Regarding the interest, there is an article written about the first 990, entitled "Possible Breach of Fiduciary Duty at Black Box Voting?" by Jim Lindgren (Professor of Law at Northwestern University School of Law and "co-author of the most widely used law school textbook on Estates and Trusts, which includes chapters discussing charities and charitable trusts"), who states: "I consulted an academic expert in nonprofit organizations and their taxation, who similarly thought that BBV's Form 990 raised serious legal questions about whether there had been any breaches of fiduciary duty."

http://volokh.com/posts/1155464872.shtml

[troubleinwinter]

53. Check this:

An interesting article was written about blackboxvoting.org's first 990: http://volokh.com/posts/1155464872.shtml

"Possible Breach of Fiduciary Duty at Black Box Voting?"

by Jim Lindgren -

Professor of Law, Northwestern University School of Law

Co-author of the most widely used law school textbook on Estates and Trusts... chapters discussing charities and charitable trusts.

"...my concern here is over serious questions with BBV’s Form 990"

"I consulted an academic expert in nonprofit organizations and their taxation, who similarly thought that BBV's Form 990 raised serious legal questions about whether there had been any breaches of fiduciary duty."

Postings in the 'comments' section by Lindgren (and many of the other comments) are also interesting:

If I were a lawyer for BBV and had been asked to sign this tax return, I probably would not have been able to do it ethically, at least not without trying to figure out what is going on and correct it (e.g., by going to the Board of Directors).

...If things are as they appear to be, one couldn't just sign the return and pretend that nothing was wrong.

That would seem to leave the managers liable to reimburse the charity only for interest from the time they should have invested through whenever they actually started investing. If what you report is true, that would probably be between $15,000 and $60,000 in damages that they now owe to the charity.

That probable $15,000-$60,000 in damages due to the organization is only for the FIRST year in lost interest.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

55. $613,309 as “Cash--non interest-bearing”

The lawyer said:

II. All of BBV's Financial Assets Were Held in Non-Interest Bearing Accounts.

Leaving aside some small math errors in the return noted by posters at DailyKos, the thing that really jumps out on Black Box Voting's Form 990 is something that Kos commenters notice, but don’t seem to understand the full import of: Black Box Voting shows $972,304 in “Gifts, grants, and contributions received” (990 Schedule A, p.3, ln.15) and the return shows $613,309 as “Cash--non-interest-bearing” at the end of the year (990, p.4, ln.45). Despite this huge cash account, the return shows no “interest or dividends” from investments (990 Schedule A, p.3, ln.18) for the entire year!

http://volokh.com/posts/1155464872.shtml

Seems like the bank would FORCE you to take at least a little interest, almost
to keep them from looking odd.

Why wouldn't you put the money in an interest bearing account?

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

59. non-profit as an oxymoron

not calling anyone a moron.

This is certainly a money making venture. Wow.

[EFerrari]

60. She's not a moron, she's a sociopath. n/t