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The director of a controversial Muslim nonprofit is accused of misleading US Senators over how it spent more than $20 million in cash earmarked to resettle refugees, according to watchdog groups.
Senators are probing what happened to the tens of millions of taxpayer funds used for a humanitarian parole program that allowed almost 77,000 Afghan refugees into the country following the 2021 Taliban takeover.
Some of that money was distributed through the California Department of Social Services’ Afghan Legal Services Project (ALSP) and handled by the California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
The director of CAIR-CA, Hussam Ayloush, told in a Jan. 9 letter to Senators CAIR-CA “had no input or role in identifying the organizations chosen to provide direct legal services (to Afghan refugees) under the grant.”
He went on to write that “the State of California selected the PAs and subgrantees after an extensive application and review process.
“CAIR-CA and its regional offices were amongst numerous other non-CAIR-CA organizations that received funds from the state of California….All selected organizations were required to submit reports to the State of California, regarding the fiscal and programmatic status of the grants throughout the grant period to ensure compliance.”
However, that statement “flatly contradicts contracts he personally signed” in 2022 and 2023, according to two whistleblower groups — the Intelligent Advocacy Network (IAN) and the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI).
“Ayloush personally signed every one of these ALSP grants as executive director of CAIR-LA,” said a spokesman for NCRI and IAN who argue that “an entity contractually charged with administering funds and subgranting services necessarily plays a role in identifying subgrantees and their performance under the grant.”
In addition to heading of CAIR-CA, Ayloush is also listed as the executive director of the group’s Greater Los Angeles Area office.
“He accepted those duties in writing,” the whistleblowers said. “He certified compliance. He agreed to oversight and accountability provisions that directly contradict the claims he later made to Congress.”
Beginning in 2022, Ayloush signed three contracts with the California Department of Social Services, worth $20 million, to “support Afghan Newcomers as they enter communities,” according to the contracts obtained through Freedom of Information legislation by IAN and NCRI.
It is not clear what happened to all of the funds once received by CAIR, the watchdog groups charge.
Adding to the confusion is Ayloush’s dual roles as both CEO of CAIR-CA and executive director of CAIR-LA, according to the watchdogs.
“CAIR–LA directed millions of dollars in ALSP funds, including over $3.6 million to itself and substantial funding to CAIR–San Diego and other service providers,” the whistleblowers allege.
“These transactions demonstrate that CAIR-LA exercised active subgranting authority under the program, rather than serving as a passive recipient.”
Separately, CAIR California sent a total of $185,000 in grants to the Muslim American Society (MAS), which is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, funding MAS chapters in Sacramento and Los Angeles in 2024, according to federal tax filings.
The payments were categorized as funding for “refugee and entrant assistance.”
On Jan. 18, MAS held a pop-up “Support Sudan” event at its Brooklyn youth center where they sold trinkets supporting Hamas and Hezbollah, according to a Times of Israel report.
CAIR has recently come under fire in Texas and Florida, where it has been designated a “foreign terrorist organization.” Earlier this month, the powerful tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee referred CAIR’s California chapter to the IRS, alleging misuse of taxpayer funds and violations of rules governing tax-exempt entities.
In the Jan. 9 letter, Ayloush blamed “false and defamatory allegations” about CAIR-CA on “a larger defamation campaign targeting American Muslims by fringe anti-Muslim groups and individuals who intentionally misrepresent public documents and information to create a false narrative.”
Representatives for CAIR and MAS did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
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