An investigation has been launched by Georgia’s secretary of state regarding “financial irregularities” associated with the New Georgia Project, a voting-rights nonprofit organization established by Stacey Abrams. This development follows the purported financial misconduct by past executives of the New Georgia Project.
Concerns have also been raised by accounting and legal professionals regarding the legality of the nonprofit’s recent tax filings. The state is expected to issue subpoenas to entities linked to the New Georgia Project as the investigation progresses.
Back in December of 2022, Stacey Abrams’ nonprofit organization, the New Georgia Project, had been accused of violating state charity laws in multiple states across the country. The organization allegedly failed to properly register as a charity or file required financial disclosures in at least three states, including Georgia. Critics have raised concerns about the lack of transparency and potential misuse of funds by the nonprofit.
On Wednesday, the Georgia Secretary of State launched an investigation into financial irregularities related to the New Georgia Project, a voting-rights nonprofit organization founded by Stacey Abrams. The probe follows reports by the Washington Free Beacon regarding alleged financial misconduct by former executives of the nonprofit. Accounting and legal experts have also raised questions about the legality of the organization’s recent tax filings. As the investigation proceeds, authorities are expected to issue subpoenas to those affiliated with the New Georgia Project.
They write:
Founded by Abrams in 2013, the New Georgia Project quickly rose to become one of the nation’s leading voter registration groups. Together the New Georgia Project and its affiliated New Georgia Project Action Fund raised a combined $54.7 million since 2020.
The Free Beacon found myriad discrepancies in the New Georgia Project’s financial disclosures. Among those discrepancies include a mysterious half-million-dollar consulting payment to a charity run in part by the brother of former New Georgia Project CEO Nsé Ufot, who was later fired for undisclosed reasons.
The New Georgia Project also reported that it paid zero payroll taxes in 2020, an impossibility barring extensive criminal conduct. A spokesman for the Georgia attorney general declined to comment.
Georgia’s secretary of state opened its investigation into the charity amid a separate long-running case by the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission alleging that the voter registration group illegally worked to elect Abrams during her failed 2018 gubernatorial bid.
Abrams indicated that she will probably run again. In her previous campaign, she received over $100 million in donations, mainly from liberal donors outside of Georgia. However, despite the large amount of funds raised, her campaign reportedly owes over $1 million to vendors, as reported by Axios.
In the 2018 Abrams raised over $100 million which was a record-breaking amount for the state. However, her campaign still owed over $1 million to vendors and contractors. The outstanding debts are reportedly for expenses such as advertising, staffing, and consulting services.
Despite the high level of fundraising, Abrams’ opponent, Brian Kemp, was able to outspend her by around $20 million in the final weeks of the campaign. This disparity in spending has been cited as one of the reasons for her loss in the race.
The debt from her 2018 campaign could potentially affect her future political aspirations, including a potential run for governor again in 2022.