Less than one year ago, the Dean Heller campaign released a summary of the damning details regarding Danny Tarkanian’s abuse of the children’s charity he runs, Tarkanian Basketball Academy.
From Dean Heller’s website, DannyTarkanianNews.com:
“[Tarkanian] paid his mortgage with money from a children’s charity. And that’s not all Danny Tarkanian has taken from his children’s charity. Documents show he has paid himself over $660,000 in salary from his children’s charity since 2005, and his salary has been as high as 25 percent of the charity’s annual budget – even when the charity ran major budget deficits – Danny took six figure paychecks…” “Even more suspicious, the charity had never paid a dollar for management costs before those years but suddenly spent $149,500 on “management costs” while Tarkanian was in court. Public filings do not show who was paid the money…” “While Danny Tarkanian gave himself a massive raise in 2014, the children’s charity began bleeding money. In 2014, Tarkanian paid himself $127,000 while the charity spent $46,000 more than it raised. But those numbers pale in comparison to the following year when Tarkanian reported taking a whopping $162,000 in salary while the basketball academy ran an enormous $114,000 budget deficit in 2015…” “According to the charity’s website, the Tarkanian Basketball Academy charges kids as young as kindergarten-age $125 per month to train at the facility. Instead of reinvesting the charity’s profits into programs or lowering prices for the kids, Tarkanian took the money for himself.”
This week the Review Journal published a letter from a former employee of Tarkanian Basketball Academy who laid out Danny’s exorbitant salary and charged that “Danny Tarkanian is not being honest about the charity that he has abused for personal gain.”
Nevada State Democratic Party spokesperson Michael Soneff released the following statement:
“Danny Tarkanian has abused his charity for personal benefit and personal profit, using it to prop up his career as a failed perennial candidate for office. Danny has shamelessly exploited this charity for campaign purposes all while he has been bleeding it dry. Susie Lee has spent more than 20 years fighting for Nevada’s children, and will continue that work in Washington. The voters have a better choice than scam-artist Danny Tarkanian on November 6.”
Background on Danny Tarkanian’s Scandals:
- Danny received a $16 million bailout from the FDIC for a failed “equestrian destination resort” in California.
- Danny helped to set up a series of telemarketing companies that scammed senior citizens.
- Danny borrowed $200,000 against his parents’ life insurance policy without their knowledge.
- Danny ran up a $161,000 operating deficit running a children’s basketball charity, while drawing $289,000 in salary.
- Danny funneled $40,000 from a children’s basketball charity into one of his political campaigns.
- Danny’s real estate businesses racked up significant penalties from the IRS, including $23,000 in back taxes, interest, penalties, and fees.
- Danny was implicated in an academic fraud scheme that resulted in penalties from the NCAA.
- Danny was sanctioned by the Nevada State Bar for failing to comply with a court order and for practicing law without an active license.
- Danny was fired from a telemarketing/long-distance phone company for allegedly forging a customer’s Social Security number and signature.
- Danny was successfully sued for malpractice after costing a small business owner his livelihood.
- Danny was a moderator for a racist Facebook group.
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