Current:Home > Contact-usNaomi Campbell Banned as Charity Trustee for 5 Years After Spending Funds on Hotels, Spas and Cigarettes-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Naomi Campbell Banned as Charity Trustee for 5 Years After Spending Funds on Hotels, Spas and Cigarettes
View Date:2024-12-23 16:57:51
It would appear that Naomi Campbell has displayed some less than model behavior.
The acclaimed supermodel has been disqualified from any charity involvement in England and Wales for the next five years after it was found that Fashion for Relief—a charity organization she helped found in 2005—had been misappropriating funds.
A Sept. 26 inquiry by the Charity Commission for England and Wales confirmed that there were "multiple instances of misconduct and / or mismanagement" by Campbell, as well as her fellow trustees, Bianka Hellmich and Veronica Chou, who have also been banned from charitable works for nine years and four years, respectively.
The Commission found that "between April 2016 and July 2022, only 8.5 percent of the charity's overall expenditure was on charitable grants," and noted that in May 2018, the trustees spent €14,800 (about $19,800) on a flight from London to Nice for a fundraising event, according to the decision shared on their public website. During that trip, the inquiry stated Campbell also used the charity's funds to spend €9,400 (about $12,500) on hotel accommodations, as well as an additional €7,939.75 (about $10,700)—paid for by the charity—on "spa treatments, room service, and the purchase of cigarettes and hotel products."
Fashion for Relief's trustees told the commission in the inquiry that the hotel and travel expenses were considered a "cost-effective choice" and that the cost of the hotel was typically covered by a donor to the charity. However, the inquiry noted that, "No evidence was provided by the trustees to evidence such payments by the Donor and no corresponding credits to the charity, from the Donor, were identified from the Inquiry's review of the charity's financial records."
According to the Charity Commission, "Fashion for Relief, which has been removed from the register of charities, was set up for the purpose of poverty relief and advancing health and education by making grants to charities or other organisations and by giving resources directly to those affected."
The commission's inquiry also found that "unauthorised payments totalling £290,000 for consultancy services had been made to a trustee, Bianka Hellmich, which was in breach of the charity's constitution," although they did note in their decision that she had "proactively proposed repaying these funds" which amount to around $388,000.
As for Campbell, she has stated that she was "extremely concerned" by the findings.
"I was not in control of my charity," the 54-year-old told the Associated Press while being named a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters at the French Ministry for Culture Sept. 26. "I put the control in the hands of a legal employer."
She added, "We are investigating to find out what and how, and everything I do and every penny I ever raised goes to charity."
E! News reached out to reps for Campbell, Hellmich and Chou for comment on the inquiry but has not heard back.
Fashion for Relief was dissolved and removed from the Register of Charities on March 15.
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (7)
Related
- Dick Van Dyke says he 'fortunately' won't be around for Trump's second presidency
- Press 1 for more anger: Americans are fed up with customer service
- Lawmakers are split on how to respond to the recent bank failures
- California toddler kills 1-year-old sister with handgun found in home, police say
- Whoopi Goldberg Shares Very Relatable Reason She's Remained on The View
- California aims to tap beavers, once viewed as a nuisance, to help with water issues and wildfires
- The U.S. takes emergency measures to protect all deposits at Silicon Valley Bank
- Bison severely injures woman in Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota
- Best fits for Corbin Burnes: 6 teams that could match up with Cy Young winner
- Travis King's family opens up about U.S. soldier in North Korean custody after willfully crossing DMZ
Ranking
- Man killed in Tuskegee University shooting in Alabama is identified. 16 others were hurt
- This week on Sunday Morning (July 23)
- Travis King's family opens up about U.S. soldier in North Korean custody after willfully crossing DMZ
- Texas Politicians Aim to Penalize Wind and Solar in Response to Outages. Are Renewables Now Strong Enough to Defend Themselves?
- Jason Kelce Offers Up NSFW Explanation for Why Men Have Beards
- For 40 years, Silicon Valley Bank was a tech industry icon. It collapsed in just days
- Inside Clean Energy: Where Can We Put All Those Wind Turbines?
- It Was an Old Apple Orchard. Now It Could Be the Future of Clean Hydrogen Energy in Washington State
Recommendation
-
US Congress hopes to 'pull back the curtain' on UFOs in latest hearing: How to watch
-
Inside Clean Energy: The Rooftop Solar Income Gap Is (Slowly) Shrinking
-
Alabama woman confesses to fabricating kidnapping
-
Pregnant Jana Kramer Reveals Sex of Her and Allan Russell's Baby
-
Lost luggage? This new Apple feature will let you tell the airline exactly where it is.
-
It Was an Old Apple Orchard. Now It Could Be the Future of Clean Hydrogen Energy in Washington State
-
For Emmett Till’s family, national monument proclamation cements his inclusion in the American story
-
Chris Martin and Dakota Johnson's Love Story Is Some Fairytale Bliss