Yéle’s suspicious business dealings ranged from spending a full half of its revenue on travel, salaries, consultants, and office fees, to over $256,000 in illegitimate benefits—including $24,000 for Jean’s chauffeur service and over $30,000 for a private jet to fly Lindsay Lohan to a benefit that barely raised $60,000. Jean also received $100,000 to perform at his own charity’s fundraiser, and gave expensive contracts to his brother-in-law to renovate an orphanage whose director tells the Times, “If I had depended on Yéle, these kids would all be dead by now.”
Not one to take thorough audits by the New York Attorney General lying down, Jean claims in a new memoir that he endured a “crucifixion” by being asked perfectly reasonable questions about what, exactly, his charity did with its $16 million in donations. Jean further argues that he has been persecuted “like Jesus and Martin Luther King, Jr.” Like those men, Jean has an excellent moral defense of his behavior: He clearly didn't need to embezzle money, because his watch collection alone is worth $500,000.
