An ESPN Outside the Lines report alleges today that Patricia Driscoll, President of the Armed Forces Foundation and estranged former girlfriend of NASCAR driver Kurt Busch, used foundation funds to pay personal bills, in violation of several laws.
ESPN Senior Writer Mike Fish reports that a former AFF employee contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation recently and provided written documentation of several alleged financial discrepancies involving Driscoll during her tenure as AFF president.
In a separate ESPN Inside the Lines investigation, Fish reports that the AFF repeatedly lent money to Driscoll to pay personal expenses, including personal state and federal income taxes. In another instance, AFF lent more than $22,000 to Driscoll for the purchase of Moroccan rugs.
In addition to Driscoll's $171,027 annual salary, an attorney for the AFF whistleblower accused the foundation of paying more than $15,000 in legal fees associated with Driscoll's recent child custody battle, along with $6,315.22 for an infra-red security camera shipped to her Maryland residence. In addition, the foundation allegedly paid for Driscoll’s personal vacations to Paris and Morocco.
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| Patricia Driscoll |
ESPN’s Fish reports that AFF paid the credit card bill for Driscoll's private security business -- Frontline Defense Systems – 17 times in 19 months from 2012 to 2013; paying for massages, personal medical expenses, toy store purchases and grocery bills. While many (and perhaps all) of those expenses were subsequently reimbursed by Busch or his company, Kurt Busch, Inc., it is illegal for a nonprofit corporation to lend money to its officers or directors.
Driscoll subsequently accused Busch of assaulting her in his motorhome at Dover International Speedway on September 26, 2014. She obtained an Order of No Contact against him in Delaware Family Court, but the Delaware Department of Justice declined to file charges, due to a lack of evidence.
Driscoll declined to comment for the ESPN.com article. An AFF spokesperson called the allegations, “absolutely false.”
Fish's article, entitled, Documents: Kurt Busch's ex-girlfriend used veterans' charity as bank can be read in its entirety at espn.go.com,
