Sean Penn’s organization accused of financial mismanagement and ignoring sexual harassment allegations

Sean Penn’s name has frequently come up in association with international humanitarian and anti-war causes over the years. In this sense, he founded the non-profit organization CORE in 2010, after the earthquakes in Haiti, narrated in the documentary “Citizen Penn”.

With the crisis caused by the pandemic, Sean Penn was quick to react and get involved in the fight against covid-19, with this same organization. But not everything went so smoothly.

According to a Bloomberg investigation, CORE may have helped save lives, but it failed employees in protecting employees from sexual abuse and also from financial mismanagement.

Several celebrities were involved in fundraising for CORE. A little over a year ago, a party was organized at Soho Beach House, a private club in Miami Beach, for around 200 friends and acquaintances of the actor-activist who, although he is the best known face of the project, is no longer his CEO, but Ann Lee. For example, Leonardo DiCaprio, the Brazilian singer Anitta — who participated on condition that part of the amount raised goes to Brazil — and Delphine Arnault, heiress to the greatest fortune in the world, were present. In all, the party raised $1.6 million for CORE.

But let’s go back in time first. According to Bloomberg’s investigation, since 2016 Ann Lee has been taking the reins of the organization and, in 2019 – the year in which there was an annual revenue of 6 million dollars -, financial reports showed that money had been lost. until then. At that time, there were 18 people working at CORE and there were no volunteers.

Meanwhile, the Covid-19 pandemic broke out — and the nonprofit grew. About 200 million dollars were raised and more than 3 thousand people were hired, which means more employees than the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In the worst phase of the pandemic, CORE helped run millions of tests and deliver life-saving vaccines across the US, with a particular focus on Los Angeles. Given the success, donations were always increasing and federal subsidies were obtained.

All in all, CORE reported revenues of $76 million in 2020 and $122 million in 2021, according to its latest tax forms, a far cry from the $6 million in 2019.

After the success, the controversies

With money falling in ever-increasing amounts, there was also greater responsibility for CORE. But that’s not what happened, it’s denounced. According to 38 current and former employees (remained anonymous) interviewed by Bloomberg, the organization has not implemented the kind of accounting processes needed to handle taxpayer money and payments to employees.

Thus, it is mentioned that CORE used Excel for its employees’ payroll, as well as small business software for its accounting. According to the accounting office Windes, which performed an audit of the organization in 2020, this practice resulted in tens of thousands of dollars in unaccounted expenses, hundreds of thousands of misclassified expenses, many others recorded in the wrong year, as well as the lack of payroll approvals. In addition, erroneous calculations of accumulated vacations are reported.

Another of the major complaints from employees — it is not known how many there are, but the number has dropped to hundreds — is the fact that the organization has omitted certain information about how it spends its money on tax returns. And, currently, he will still spend money on “inappropriate expenses”, such as dinners and overnight stays in luxurious hotels, but also on traffic fines.

In addition to the financial issue, employees also claim that the non-profit organization ignored reports of sexual harassment during the time of greater work in the pandemic.

At issue is the complaint of eight employees who were on duty at the Dodger Stadium test center and who claimed that elements of the Los Angeles Fire Department sexually harassed CORE co-workers – but the organization’s directors ignored the complaints.

One of the whistleblowers, Sarena Serrano, 23, said Fire Department Chief Jaime Lesinski, who ran operations at the stadium, repeatedly mistreated and sexually harassed her for months. Other current and former employees, as well as documents shared with Bloomberg, corroborate these claims.

As the rapidly growing organization did not yet have a human resources department in charge of dealing with employee complaints, Serrano decided to contact CEO Ann Lee, who dismissed the situation. A month later, the young woman was fired – and sued CORE for unfair dismissal, in a process that is still ongoing.

Regarding this episode, several employees say that, in a staff meeting, Lee defended those responsible for the test center, including Lesinski, and argued that CORE employees should be grateful for the way he took care of them, emphasizing the fact that he offered food and coffee to workers.