California state attorney general Bill Lockyer on Thursday sued a prominent charity event organizer, charging the firm misused funds from a range of famous figures, including actors Michelle Pfeiffer and Michael J. Fox and former U.S. president Bill Clinton.
As reported in the Los Angeles Times, the 53-page indictment charged fund-raiser Aaron Tonken and three others of schemes that misdirected or failed to account for at least $1.5 million in charitable contributions.
Tonken has produced high-profile galas in Los Angeles, including “A Family Celebration 2001,” which was co-sponsored by Clinton and wife Hillary Rodham Clinton as well as staff behind the TV show “Ally McBeal.”
An attorney for Tonken said that his client “never benefited personally” from any of the events he produced, the Times reported.
