AFTD: Open Hand Foundation Provides AFTD $600K for FTD Research
IGN: YouTuber The Completionist Responds to Allegations of ‘Charity Fraud’ Against Him and Open Hand
Karl Jobst: The Completionist’s Response is the Worst Thing Ever
TL;DR: Things look incredibly bad. The completionist has practically admitted to misleading donors, and it seems like he is expecting the IRS will get involved (IGN). It also seems he’s threatening legal action for slander (Jobst).
The allegation that the money was not donated seems to be true (up until the AFTD donation in November of 2023) (IGN, AFTD). The Completionist has admitted he “made statements potentially implying donations were made when they had not yet been” (IGN). Karl basically states that it isn’t a potential implication, but a direct claim that he made, and is additionally is alleging that the way The Completionist benefits from IndieLand constitutes charity fraud (Jobst).
Also, as I understand it, $600,000 is not all the money. Already last year’s tax filings showed more capital than that. The charity also has some money deducted for “costs” that is not broken down, and although I’m an outsider it doesn’t seem very cool because the charity hadn’t actually been doing anything so I can’t imagine donors feeling like costs of that size are warranted.