FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 22, 2020
Contact: Ally Livingston, alivingston@jeanneshaheen.org

Manchester, N.H. – Republican U.S. Senate candidate “Colorado Corky” Messner’s scam foundation has been flagged by Charity Navigator because of potential corruption, now that he is facing two potential criminal investigations for fraud. The Charity Navigator advisory is the latest in a string of bad moments for the Messner campaign, which has become consumed with his history of fraud.

Messner was forced to confront the scandal again on Open Mic with Mike Pomp on Wednesday. When asked about his scholarship scam and the potential charitable fraud and IRS investigations he faces, Messner directed listeners to his website’s home page, which has been completely overtaken by flimsy, Messner-created fact checks that are paid for by Messner and written by his own lawyers.

“Corky Messner defrauded donors and lied to students in his home state of Colorado, and now he’s trying to hide his record of corruption two weeks before election day,” said Shaheen campaign spokesman Josh Marcus-Blank. “Clearly he owes Granite State voters a more complete, and honest, explanation for his foundation scam now that a charity watchdog has flagged him because of reporting on his fraud.”

The Washington Post found through tax records that the Messner Foundation solicited hundreds of thousands of dollars under the guise of providing scholarships for “inner city kids,” gave scholarship money to only one student in the foundation’s first decade of operation and spent more money on an athletic field for his children’s elite private school than he did on that one student.

The Messner Foundation also fails or underperforms in all of the rating metrics on both Charity Navigator’s and CharityWatch’s platforms.

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