A conservative group has accused the founder of a liberal "dark money” network of abusing tax-exempt status to steer more than $228 million in fees to his for-profit consulting firm, echoing allegations made against a right-wing activist in April.
Americans for Public Trust sent a letter Tuesday to the Internal Revenue Service, asking it to investigate Arabella Advisors founder Eric Kessler for improperly taking for his and his firm’s benefit money donated to nonprofit groups Kessler founded. According to the letter, which was shared with Bloomberg News, the amount paid to Arabella over nearly two decades exceeded the market value of any services the firm may have provided.
A spokesperson for Arabella called the accusations "meritless” and said its fees were fair. Kessler couldn’t be reached for comment.