Posted on 06/25/2017 10:23:37 AM PDT by george76
While one deal struck by Jane O’Meara Sanders during her time as Burlington College’s president has triggered a federal investigation, another arrangement she engineered is breeding claims of nepotism and allegations of veiled threats against her husband’s presidential campaign.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ wife, Jane Sanders, is facing criticism over a “sweetheart deal” granted to a school founded by her daughter while president of the now-defunct Burlington College.
Carol Moore, who served as the final president of the college from 2014 until its closure in May 2016, says Jane Sanders approved a deal for the college with Vermont Woodworking School in 2009 that contributed to Burlington’s financial problems. Burlington College poured roughly $500,000 into the school between 2009 and 2012 to cover the costs of students taking furniture-making and woodworking design courses, reports VTDigger.
Carina Driscoll, Jane Sanders’ daughter, co-founded the woodworking school and served as president when the deal was made with Burlington. A formalized contract between the schools was only signed after Sanders left Burlington in 2011, by her successor Christine Plunkett. Federal investigators are conducting interviews over separate accusations Sanders defrauded a bank while serving as president of Burlington, leading to the school’s 2016 bankruptcy.
Burlington College paid for roughly half of the tuition of each student attending the woodworking school through their agreement. The woodworking school earned $460,000 in gross tuition the 2015-2016 fiscal year, half of-which went to Burlington College. Burlington used a portion of these funds to cover $143,300 in faculty costs at the woodworking school. Vermont Woodworking School made an $87,475 profit in the 2015-2016 fiscal year.
A draft of Burlington’s budget for the 2016-2017 fiscal year estimated Vermont Woodworking School would have roughly $400,000 in total expenses. The woodworking program became one of Burlington College’s largest expenses at the time of bankruptcy,
(Excerpt) Read more at dailywesterner.com ...
Vacation homes on pristine lakes don’t come cheap...
Was there that much demand for woodworking classes at this “college”???
Was there that much demand for woodworking classes at this “college”???
BURLINGTON — The Justice Department was investigating the activities of the now-defunct Burlington College as recently as February, according to emails obtained through a public records request. The emails show the U.S. attorney for Vermont and an FBI agent reviewed Burlington College records in the state’s possession earlier this year pursuant to an investigation. Both enforcement agencies declined to comment on the substance of that probe or whether it has been completed.
“It’s typical for us not to comment or to confirm whether or not there’s a current investigation. We would not comment on any active investigation,” said Kraig LaPorte, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office. An FBI spokeswoman cited a similar policy. The chair of the Burlington College board of trustees said Thursday that the FBI investigation has been going for more than a year, and at least one former school employee was subpoenaed as part of the probe.
In January 2016, after reporting by VTDigger showing former Burlington College President Jane Sanders overstated pledged donations in applying for a loan so the school could purchase its former North Avenue campus, Republican lawyer Brady Toensing made a formal request to the U.S. attorney for a fraud investigation.
The Vermont Agency of Education took possession of records left at the college in the wake of its sudden closure in May. When a college closes, state law requires the school or the state to keep academic records so students can obtain transcripts and graduate certificates.
Burlington College opted to let the state handle that process. Agency officials said they found the school’s records in disarray, in part because of an unsolved burglary. The state, as a result, took possession of nonacademic records as well as the student records it was required to take.
In November, Toensing requested an index of the records in the state’s possession. Education officials provided a list showing business records, board materials such as meeting minutes dating back to 1998, and records relating to the school’s accreditation. ---SNIP---long read
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Bernie's spouse, Jane Sanders, "overstated donation amounts in a bank application" for a $6.7 million loan. She told People’s United Bank in 2010 that the college had pledges to support the purchase even as she knew the sum of actual donations did not measure up.
People who pledged say their personal financial records show their pledges were overstated.... and they were not advised pledges were used to secure a bank loan.
Jane Sanders did not respond to a request for comment as to whether she was subpoenaed or otherwise contacted by the FBI or the US attorney. NOTE She left the job considerably richer----they gave her a golden parachute.
Criminal socialists. These bums should be in prison or exiled for life. Yet ankther LIB-maggot family of parasitic losers.
Typical socialists. ‘Everyone should be equal, under me’..
I’ve lived in communist countries - and I assure you EVERYTHING is rent-seeking, insider-dealing, and gaming the system based on connections.
Socialist twits like Sanders see nothing wrong with it - they have they “correct” views, and they are elites, so its all OK.
Wasn’t there also a real-estate deal where the college acquired like 30 acres as well....which was worthless property?
Did the DNC know about this during Bernie’s campaign? If they did, they chose to let Bernie’s campaign continue, knowing full well he’d never get the nomination. One can’t help but wonder if this is why Bernie deserted his delegates at the DNC, opting for calmer waters.
Hmmm looks like the Socialists who hate money sure went through a lot of trouble to make themselves RICH
how is this different than the senator who gave crony protection to his daughters phama company so they could jack up the price of the 50 cent epipen?
It isn't. Swampthings dominate politics, across the political spectrum.
[Criminal socialists. These bums should be in prison or exiled for life.]
Hopefully they can be housed in 2017...
http://www.saukvalley.com/2017/04/03/opening-day-for-thomson-prison-a-moving-target/aw2b60c/
Communists are so predictable you could set your watch to them :)
As I have observed before, nepotism is the most serious of several fatal flaws of socialism and communism.
China groans under the weight of all the incompetent sons, daughters, nieces and nephews of the government officials with hiring power in their government.
Nepotism is completely inescapable under totalitarian systems. Every leader has a family, and a spouse, and the spouse is always going to be demanding that the kids be taken care of job-wise, and hubby (let's be honest, it's usually males in the high-powered jobs) is going to be henpecked and badgered until every one of his loser kids is in a nice comfy job.
That's true of the Ministry of Hospitals, and the Ministry of Railroads, and the Ministry of Water and Sewage, and the Ministry of Electric Power, etc., etc.
The results are inevitable.
Bernie’s Army is pretty significant within the Democrat Party ranks. I wonder what they think about all of this. I just think it’s Deep State shenanigans to throw the investigation off of Hillary, but also to rid themselves of Bernie from being a significant factor in 2020.
With the Clintons, “Always two there are, no more, no less.” A carrot and a stick:
1) Lake House(s)
2) A free pass on the college fraud investigation
Just ask Loretta Lynch after the Tarmac meeting.
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