A conservative watchdog group has filed multiple complaints with the IRS alleging that Ashley Biden’s charity misreported or omitted $500,000 in donations from high-profile sources, raising questions about the former first daughter’s nonprofit management practices.
The allegedly misreported $500,000 in donations to the Biden family charity would not fall under the scope of former President Joe Biden’s sweeping pardons gifted to his extended family as he left office. Biden did not include his granddaughter in his pardons.
The National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) filed its latest complaint Monday claiming that Women’s Wellness Spa(ce), founded by Ashley Biden in 2023, reported receiving just $170,296 in total contributions for 2023 despite two major foundations reporting they had each made $250,000 grants to the organization that same year.
According to tax documents cited in the complaint, the Archewell Foundation, established by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation both reported $250,000 grants to Biden’s Philadelphia-based wellness center for formerly incarcerated women.
Yet, Ashley Biden’s organization reported receiving no contributions from any single source greater than $5,000.
“Ashley Biden’s failure to disclose to the IRS receiving $500,000 in grants in 2023 raises the question of what other contributions is she hiding,” Paul Kamenar, NLPC’s counsel who drafted the complaints, told the Washington Free Beacon.
The complaint follows an earlier filing from March 12 that also alleged Biden, who signed her organization’s tax form under penalty of perjury, failed to identify all board members and may have exaggerated her reported 40-hour workweek.
Greg Mangasarian, an accountant for Women’s Wellness Spa(ce), defended the organization’s reporting, telling the Free Beacon that while the foundations pledged their respective $250,000 grants in 2023, they “didn’t distribute the bulk of the funds until 2024.”
“The Women’s Wellness Space received $150,000 in 2023 and will report the balance in 2024,” Mangasarian said.
Kamenar rejected this explanation, arguing that Biden’s organization uses the accrual method of accounting, which requires reporting grants when they’re committed, not when the money is received.
The timing of the donations has raised eyebrows in conservative circles. The NLPC complaint points out that Markle’s substantial contribution came while Joe Biden was committed to running for a second term, suggesting it could have been an attempt to “ingratiate themselves with President Biden and his family.”
The Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation has also called for “significant scrutiny” of the Archewell donation, questioning whether Markle and Prince Harry made the contribution to gain access to Joe Biden’s inner circle.
Tax fraud charges have plagued other members of the Biden family. Ashley’s father, Hunter Biden, pleaded guilty in September to failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019, but will never serve jail time for the crime because of the blanket pardon from his father along with numerous other family members.
Women’s Wellness Spa(ce) was established in July 2023 to reportedly provide “a safe space for women who have experienced trauma, to access nutritious food, exercise, meditation, and various therapies” including infrared saunas and EMDR therapy. Under Biden, the organization received its 501(c)(3) tax exemption in September 2023, retroactive to its July founding date.
The IRS has not commented on the complaints, as the agency typically maintains confidentiality regarding its investigations and audits.