Hmong nonprofit charges fraud

A St. Paul advocacy group has sued a Minneapolis organization with a similar name, alleging more than $75,000 in embezzlement and other financial misdeeds.

March 6, 2008 at 2:30AM

A St. Paul nonprofit that advocates for Hmong people has filed a lawsuit claiming that its treasurer embezzled more than $75,000, then jumped ship and helped start a rival Minneapolis group with a nearly identical name.

The World Hmong People's Congress Inc. is suing the Congress of World Hmong Peoples and eight members of its board of directors. John Yeng Her of St. Paul is named as the former group's treasurer and a board member of the Minneapolis organization.

The suit, filed recently in Ramsey County District Court, also claims that the Minneapolis group tried to lay claim to the St. Paul group's bank account.

No criminal charges have been filed against Her, 46, in Ramsey or Hennepin counties and there apparently are no police reports related to the embezzlement allegations, authorities said.

According to the lawsuit, Her did not deposit $45,000 raised for the group by a Wisconsin fundraiser in March and at the Hmong July 4th soccer tournament. He wrote a check for more than $28,000 and refused to explain the nature of the expense, used $835 to pay personal expenses, and withdrew $4,000 from the group's account, the documents said.

The suit also claims that in December the defendants conspired to change the name of the World Hmong People's Congress to the Congress of World Hmong People. When that was thwarted, the allegation said, a new nonprofit was incorporated as the Congress of World Hmong People in mid-January.

Six of the eight board members of the new group were volunteer staff members at the World Hmong People's Congress until Jan. 14, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit asks for a judgment of more than $77,000, the dissolution of the defendants' group, the release of the plaintiffs' bank account that is being held in trust by the court, and the return of legal papers, office supplies and furniture.

The plaintiff's attorney, Pao Yang, did not return phone calls seeking comment. None of the defendants could be reached for comment.

Pat Pheifer • 651-298-1551

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