How North Carolina Taxpayers Fund Anti-Abortion Clinics, Private Schools
View this email in your browser ([link removed])
** CfA's May 17, 2024 Newsletter
------------------------------------------------------------
With your support, Campaign for Accountability is working to expose corruption and hold the powerful accountable.
** This Week's Updates:
------------------------------------------------------------
North Carolina Taxpayer Dollars Head to Private Schools, Crisis Pregnancy Centers
In 2014, North Carolina launched a program ([link removed]) that directed $4.6 million in taxpayer dollars into a school voucher program for low-income families, who could use the money to send their children to private schools. Since then, the program has exploded into a $500 million slush fund and helped fuel the re-segregation ([link removed]) of the state’s education system. Now, the state’s Republican lawmakers are leading a push to fully eliminate ([link removed]) income requirements for private school vouchers, meaning even the wealthiest families could participate. At the same time, the state is using funds
([link removed]) from the federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program to support anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs), even though these facilities have few reporting requirements and do not appear to be providing ([link removed]) a high volume of services.
Regardless of their policy impacts, both programs appear to distribute funding with minimal oversight, making them targets for fraud. Multiple ([link removed]) CPC ([link removed]) programs ([link removed]) in other states have been investigated for misusing funds or providing low quality care, while one North Carolina private school has already been investigated for having more vouchers than students ([link removed]) . In 2020, CfA called on
([link removed]) Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf to end the state’s contract with Real Alternatives, a third-party CPC administrator which appeared to waste taxpayer dollars and failed to provide adequate pregnancy care. Three years after CfA filed its complaint, the newly-elected Gov. Josh Shapiro finally ended ([link removed]) Real Alternative’s contract. In North Carolina, Democrats who sit on the General Assembly’s Government Operations Committee have asked for increased transparency into both programs, but say they have been stonewalled
([link removed]) by their colleagues.
Meta Rescinds Job Offer to Sextortion Expert
Until recently, cyber-intelligence expert Paul Raffile thought he had a job lined up at Meta, where he planned to combat cyber threats and keep children safe from online sexual exploitation. Before being onboarded, though, he criticized the company’s approach to child safety in a closed-door webinar ([link removed]) which was attended by Meta employees. His offer was rescinded ([link removed]) only hours later. A company spokesperson told The Guardian that Raffile’s comments played no role in their hiring decision, despite the unusual timing.
Regardless of Meta’s true intent, the episode draws attention to the company’s failure to address sextortion schemes, which have already led to the deaths of over 20 children ([link removed]) by suicide. Raffile’s work ([link removed]) focused on a group of scammers known as “Yahoo Boys,” who build fake social media profiles to trick victims into sending nude photos of themselves. Scammers will then threaten to send the photos to a victim’s friends, family, or employer. Speaking to The Guardian, Raffile pointed out that Meta had failed to make simple design changes to protect users; hiding minors’ followers by default, for instance, would prevent blackmailers from accessing their contacts. Unfortunately, Meta’s current approach puts engagement before safety, and prioritizes the creation and viewing of content ([link removed]) over user
wellbeing.
North Korea Launders Millions Through Crypto Exchange
In August 2022, the U.S. Treasury announced sanctions against Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency “mixer ([link removed]) ” that blends multiple transactions together to obfuscate their origins and destinations. Mixers can allow criminals to launder immense amounts of money, according to Treasury officials, and Tornado Cash failed to create basic safeguards that would have minimized this risk. Inevitably, the mixer was used to launder almost half a billion dollars for a group of North Korean hackers, and processed a total of $2.3 billion ([link removed]) on behalf of illicit and sanctioned entities between 2019 and 2022.
This week, Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev was found guilty of money laundering by Dutch authorities and sentenced ([link removed]) to five years in prison. His case underscores the role that cryptocurrencies play in money laundering, and the threat that unregulated crypto service providers pose to the U.S. and its allies. Days after Pertsev’s sentencing, the Treasury released its 2024 National Strategy for Combatting Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing ([link removed].) , which identified the creation of cryptocurrency anti-money laundering requirements as a key priority. The agency’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has already begun the process of cracking down
([link removed]) on mixers, after proposing a rule ([link removed]) that would identify them as a primary money laundering concern.
What We're Reading
FTC fires 'shot across the bow' at automakers over connected-car data privacy ([link removed])
Louisiana may reclassify drugs used in abortion as controlled dangerous substances ([link removed])
Supreme Court lets CFPB funding stand ([link removed])
** Follow Our Work:
------------------------------------------------------------
We thank you for your continued support. Without people like you, our work would not be possible.
Here is how you can stay involved and help us accomplish our mission:
1. Follow CfA on Threads ([link removed]) and BlueSky ([link removed])
2. Follow the Tech Transparency Project on Threads ([link removed]) and Bluesky ([link removed])
3. Tell your friends and colleagues ([link removed]) about CfA.
4. Send us a tip ([link removed]) .
5. Make a tax-deductible donation ([link removed]) .
Be on the lookout for more updates about our work in the upcoming weeks. Thanks again for signing up to be a part of CfA!
Sincerely,
Michelle Kuppersmith
Executive Director, Campaign for Accountability
============================================================
** Website ([link removed])
Copyright © 2024 Campaign for Accountability, All rights reserved.
You signed up for this list at campaignforaccountability.org
Our mailing address is:
Campaign for Accountability
611 Pennsylvania Ave SE
#337
Washington, District Of Columbia 20003
USA
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.
Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp
[link removed]
