Odom, Kardashian Charity Scam? NBA Player's 'Cathy's Kids' Foundation Investigated
NBA basketball player Lamar Odom and his wife Khloe Kardashian have come under fire after an ESPN article detailing poorly-run charities involving pro athletes targeted the celebrity couple as a major culprit.
Odom's foundation, Cathy's Kids, which he founded in 2004 following the loss of his mother to stomach cancer, has been criticized for allegedly failing to fork over one cent to cancer research since it started operating nine years ago.
According to the ESPN investigation, the nearly eight years of tax records examined by the sports network revealed that the primary purpose of Cathy's Kids was to finance two elite AAU traveling youth basketball teams.
The report claims that about $1.3 million of the total $2.2 million raised by the charity were funneled to the two youth basketball squads.
Another large portion of the money raised by Cathy's Kids ended up in the bank of account of Jerry DeGregorio, the charity's secretary and one of Odom's closest friends. DeGregorio, who served as Odom's high school coach as well as the best man at Odom's wedding, is currently an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors.
Although the ESPN report claims the charity operated at a loss, DeGregorio reportedly earned an average yearly salary of about $72,000 from 2004-2011 while working for Cathy's Kids, according to his business manager Lester Knispel, also the charity's treasurer.
The nonprofit's 2011 tax return revealed it had debts exceeding $250,000.
"It's critical that when these kind of opportunities are available that the celebrities involved realize the profound responsibility that they have to try to get as much money to support these worthy causes as they can and to make sure they don't damage the public trust," said Ken Berger, president of Charity Navigator, a firm that monitors and grades charities.
When reached for comment in the locker room after a game about the charity's finances, Odom did not answer any specific questions and, according to ESPN, wasn't able to explain why his agent and business manager said the charity had been dormant. The report said that at that point Odom became visibly upset and ended the conversation.
A month after the locker room interview, Odom agreed to speak with ESPN but again refrained from answering questions about the charity. And, when the NBA star was asked to explain some of the expenses related to Cathy's Kids, Odom repeatedly told ESPN "It's my money" and refused to offer any additional explanation.
