Tag Archives: IRS Form 990

Team Kimberlin Post of the Day

Posted on by
Reply

One of the more tedious aspects of writing about Brett Kimberlin has been digging out truthful information about his not-for-profits. The post from eight years ago today on one of the first about Following the Money.

* * * * *

Last night, I finally got around to looking over the 2011 IRS Form 990 for Velvet Revolution US. For those of you who haven’t been following the Saga of The Dread Pirate Kimberlin for long, VRUS is the 501(c)4 not-for-profit that Brett Kimberlin runs. There are some interesting changes in the filings between 2010 and 2011 which we’ll explore from time to time. Today, let’s look briefly at the reported expenses.

Here’s an extract from the first page of the form. You can click on the image to embiggen it for easier reading.

2011_VRUS_990_ExpenseNote that line 13 is where payments to independent contractors are reported. Hold that thought. Now, take a look at this extract from Schedule O (where the “Other expenses” are described).2011_VRUS_990_SchedO

We find additional payments to independent contractors. That’s an interesting irregularity on a report filed by a CPA.

Also, over $35,000 was spent on “Public Relations.” I can’t find any record of VRUS spending so much as a dime on PR before 2011, but VRUS says it spent over 40% of its budget on PR during that year. Why was that sort of expense required?

2011 was the year that the Kimberlin v. Allen lawsuit was in courts. TDPK sued for over $2 million claiming that Seth Allen’s blogging was affecting his ability to raise money for his “charities.” (TDPK won a $100 nominal judgment in the end.) Was this PR campaign an effort to overcome the effects of Allen’s truthful blogging? (Allen lost the suit on a technicality not the merits.) Will we see more spending on PR on the 2012 Form 990?

Hmmmm.

Stay tuned.

* * * * *

Team Kimberlin Post of the Day

Posted on by
Reply

The TKPOTD for eight years ago today dealt with the legal expenses reported on the 2012 IRS 990 forms filed by Justice Through Music Project and Velvet Revolution US. JTMP is Brett Kimberlin’s 501(c)(3) not-for-profit entity. Velvet Revolution US was renamed Protect Our Elections/EMPR Inc. in 2017. The IRS has revoked its 501(c)(4) status.

* * * * *

According to paperwork filed with the IRS, The Dread Pro-Se Kimberlin’s not-for-profits spent $34,625 on legal expenses in 2012.

This is from page 10 of the Form 990 filed by Justice Through Music Project.2012JTMP990-p10This is from the Schedule O attached to the Form 990-EZ filed by Velvet Revolution US.VRUS2012SchedOThe only lawsuit involving those entities was Walker v. Kimberlin, et al. which was dismissed shortly after the not-for-profits were added as parties. Furthermore, they were represented in the matter by Jeffrey Cohen, the Executive Director of both organizations. Even if he billed for his services and all the expense was borne by JTMP, it would be unlikely that his fees would have justifiably amounted to over $11,000.

The only other “legal” activity during 2012 seems to be some frivolous bar complaints filed on behalf of VRUS by Kevin Zeese. Again, the apparent level of effort for that work does not go a long way in explaining over $23,000 in expense.

‘Tis a puzzlement.

* * * * *

JTMP’s Form 990 for 2020 has still not been posted at its dot gov.

Team Kimberlin Post of the Day

Posted on by
Reply

The IRS is falling behind on getting the Form 990s filed by tax exempt organizations. Very few of the 2019 forms are online, and the form for Justice Through Music Project are not posted yet. I’ll post them here when they are available. Previous JTMP 990s have looked like poorly done exercises in creative accounting. Seven years ago today, Hogewash! ran this post noting that The Cabin Boy™ Makes a Valid Point about Kimberlin’s accounting practices.

* * * * *

He’s right. There’s no reason to suppose that any 1099s were actually generated.@RWG201404102319Z

* * * * *

Kimberlin’s Protect Our Elections/EMPR Inc lost its 501(c)4 status because of failure to keep up with required paperwork.

Team Kimberlin Post of the Day

Posted on by
10

The IRS has finally caught up with posting online copies of 2018 Form 990s. Here’s a link to the return from Justice Through Music Project. I would normally post it to Scribd, but that site is currently having issues processing some uploads.

JTMP 2018 redacted

One thing I found interesting is that Jeffrey Cohen is still listed as the Executive Director, but when I attempted to send correspondence to him and serve a subpoena on Justice Through Music Project through him in 2017, it appeared that he was no longer with the organization.I’m sure there are other interesting tidbits contained in the filing, and the Gentle Readers are encouraged to see what they can find.

Team Kimberlin Post of the Day

Posted on by
6

The lawfare portion of The Dread Deadbeat Pro-Se Kimberlin’s flailing attempt at brass knuckles reputation management has been both a pain in the neck (or a couple of feet lower) and a rich source of pointage, laughery, and mockification. However, it really hasn’t held a candle to the incompetence of his PR effort, the crown jewel of which has been Breitbart Unmasked Bunny Billy Boy Brett Unread, but at one point, there was a BU post so shocking that the Hogewash! coverage of it was titled BREAKING: Xenophon Tells the Truth. (Xenophon is one of the pen names Matt Osborne has used.)

* * * * *

In a surprising twist Xenophon the Troll finally tells the truth in a post at Breitbart Unmasked(No, I won’t link to it.) about The Dread Pro-Se Kimberlin’s vexatious lawsuits against bloggers and media entities. In a prolonged screed about Paul Alan Levy’s representation of anonymous blogger Ace of Spades in the Kimberlin v. The Universe, et al. RICO Madness, Xenophon writes— BU20140221bYep. As TDPK has claimed, donations from big-time leftwing contributors are drying up for his not-for-profits. For example, the Threshold Foundation had given Velvet Revolution grants totaling as much as $65k a year, but it has zeroed out its support.

It was leftwing blogger Seth Allen who first shined some light on Brett Kimberlin’s current activities. The fact that it was mostly the right half of the blogosphere that rallied to Allen’s defense allowed TDPK to paint resistance to his lawfare as persecution from the right.

That dog won’t hunt anymore. Ken White, Zoa Barnes, and Paul Alan Levy are not rightwing nut jobs, but they have all provided pro bono legal help to victims of Team Kimberlin. The ACLU, which is also helping in Ace’s defense, is rarely thought of as a rightwing organization.

Because of the extra publicity stirred up by TDPK’s frivolous lawsuits, good people on the left are realizing what kind of person Brett Kimberlin is, and they are deciding that they have better things to do with their money than supporting his unprofitable not-for-profits. The Streisand Effect blowback putting a real crimp in his business model.

Team Kimberlin haz sad. I expect them to act out even more outrageously before things are settled.BU20140221a

On advice of counsel, I won’t reply with a Clint Eastwood quote.

* * * * *

Speaking of Breitbart Unmasked Bunny Billy Boy Brett Unread, it doesn’t look like they bothered to publish anything for more than a week.

Oh, and speaking of following the money—the 2016 IRS Form 990s for TDPK’s not-for-profits aren’t online yet. They will probably be in the last batch of 2016 forms released after being processed by the IRS. Kimberlin has always filed that sort of paperwork at the last minute, but a man’s got to be aware of his limitations.

Team Kimberlin Post of the Day

Posted on by
6

While we wait to see if The Dread Deadbeat Pro-Se Kimberlin will get his appeal paperwork together in the Kimberlin v. Frey RICO Remnant LOLsuit appeal and for news in the other pending Team-Kimberlin-related cases, here’s another recycled TKPOTD. It’s from three years ago today.

* * * * *

Here’s an interesting bit of information from The Dread Pro-Se Kimberlin’s opposition to the motions to dismiss his Kimberlin v. Team Themis, et al. RICO 2: Electric Boogaloo LOLsuit.ECF 74-p21A loss in his earnings? Hmmmmm. That loss must have been relatively recent. The IRS Form 990s for Justice Through Music show him making $19,500 a year in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. (2014’s form doesn’t appear to have been filed yet.) Of course, TDPK’s claim about lost earnings will be easily checked if the suit gets into discovery.

Stay tuned.

* * * * *

The 2014 and 2015 Form 990s for JTMP are now available. They show that TDPK’s compensation was also $19,500 for both years. While he hasn’t given himself a raise, his IRS filings show that he hasn’t had a decrease in earnings.

That leads to the following possible conclusions—

The Dread Deadbeat Pro-Se Kimberlin was lying in his opposition to the motion to dismiss, or he was lying on his IRS Form 990s.

Of course, there are other possible explanations. Possible but not necessary plausible. And one should always consider embracing the power of and.

Team Kimberlin Post of the Day

Posted on by
51

As usual, the Kimberlin not-for-profits took advantage of six months worth of allowable filing delays and didn’t file their IRS Form 990 for 2013 until November, 2014. They are now available online. Here is the 990 for VelvetRevolution.US—

Revenue was down over 80%, and the outfit lost money for a second year in a row. What was a cash cow had become an expensive hobby.

Income was up at Justice Through Music Project.

We’ll take a deeper look at these documents over the next few days.

Team Kimberlin Post of the Day

Posted on by
18

The most recent (2012) IRS Form 990s for Justice Through Music Project and Velvet Revolution US show legal expenses totaling $34,625. The 990s for previous years do not show any significant legal expenses.

This is from the JTMP 990—JTMPLegalFees

This is from Schedule O of the VRUS 990-EZ—VRUS_LegalThis is interesting. VRUS had some legal work done for it in 2011. For example, Kevin Zeese filed a bar complaint against Justice Clarence Thomas on the organization’s behalf. He must have done it pro bono because no legal expenses are reported for that year. The two entities were sued in 2012, but the were represented by Jeffrey Cohen, the Executive Director. These are expenses not paid to employees.

Hmmmm.

Team Kimberlin Post of the Day

Posted on by
16

According to paperwork filed with the IRS, The Dread Pro-Se Kimberlin’s not-for-profits spent $34,625 on legal expenses in 2012.

This is from page 10 of the Form 990 filed by Justice Through Music Project.2012JTMP990-p10This is from the Schedule O attached to the Form 990-EZ filed by Velvet Revolution US.VRUS2012SchedOThe only lawsuit involving those entities was Walker v. Kimberlin, et al. which was dismissed shortly after the not-for-profits were added as parties. Furthermore, they were represented in the matter by Jeffrey Cohen, the Executive Director of both organizations. Even if he billed for his services and all the expense was borne by JTMP, it would be unlikely that his fees would have justifiably amounted to over $11,000.

The only other “legal” activity during 2012 seems to be some frivolous bar complaints filed on behalf of VRUS by Kevin Zeese. Again, the apparent level of effort for that work does not go a long way in explaining over $23,000 in expense.

‘Tis a puzzlement.

Dread Pirate #BrettKimberlin and Form 990

Posted on by
7

Let’s go through the Justice Through Music Project Form 990 for 2011 together.

As noted yesterday, although the JTMP website offers DVDs for sale, the only income shown on the 2011 Form 990 is from Contributions and grants (Page 1, line 8). There’s no income shown for selling anything. That’s sorta interesting because on Page 2, line 4a, the 990 states that JTMP’s primary program service accomplishment is

CIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION AND ADVOCACY PROGRAMS. WE HAVE CREATED DVDS WITH MUSICIANS TO EDUCATE YOUTH ABOUT THEIR VOTING AND CIVIL RIGHTS TO GET THEM TO REGISTER TO VOTE.

Hmmmm.

Moving along to Page 3, line 3, the question “Is the organization required to complete Schedule B, Schedule of Contributors?” is answered with a “Yes.” The is no Schedule B attached. The instructions for Form 990 say that all contributions of $5,000 or greater should be listed. The Tides Foundation shows a $10,000 contribution to JTMP on its Form 990 for 2011.

Hmmmm.

Scrolling down to Page 10, line 11c, we find that there was $11,852 of Accounting expense. That compares with $6,905 in 2010 and $2,450 in 2009 for all Professional fees and other payments to independent contractors.

Hmmmm.

Lines 16 (Occupancy) and 24d (Utilities) on Page 10 are $15,225 and $12,795 respectively. We will examine a possible explanation of those expenses in a later post.

These are just a few of the things that caught the eye of a non-accountant quickly reviewing the document. More experienced eyes are also looking.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE–To be fair, I should note that a Schedule B may have been filed. The IRS does not make them publicly available.

#BrettKimberlin’s Justice Through Music Project Files Wrong Info With IRS

Posted on by
1

The 2010 IRS Form 990 filed by Justice Through Music Project shows a Year of formation of 2005. Here is that section of the form:

20120925-154825.jpg
The Articles of Incorporation for Justice Through Music Project show a filing date of 02/21/2003. Here’s the relevant portion of that document:

20120925-155213.jpg
Hmmmm.