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JACKSON, Miss. – Today State Auditor Shad White released a report showing taxpayer funds were spent on a “Queerceanara” (which was described as a “Latinx pride month event that highlights LGBTQ Latinx and Indigenous community members”), beer, “diva brunches,” and other questionable expenses by nonprofit organizations receiving government grants from the Mississippi Department of Health. The grants were primarily intended to test Mississippians for HIV-AIDS.
“It’s almost like our government hates us,” said Auditor White. “This kind of spending defies all common sense and is an insult to hardworking taxpayers.”
Every year the federal government sends hundreds of millions of dollars to Mississippi state agencies which they then pass to nonprofits. Over the last five years, the Mississippi Department of Health was charged with using some of those funds to decrease HIV infections in Mississippi.
To achieve this goal, the Department of Health gave three nonprofits more than $853,000 between 2020 and 2025. During that time, those nonprofits only administered 35 HIV tests. Instead, they spent the funds in the following ways:
- The Immigrant Alliance for Justice and Equity (IAJE) was given
- $17,380.19 for hosting a “Queerceanera.” Of that, they spent $327.36 on Bud Light and Coronita beer, $2,500 on gift cards for “Queerceanera” attendees, and $14,126.84 on the venue, food, supplies, DJ, photographer, and travel for the event.
- $699.79 for 19 spa gift baskets “for women” from Amazon.
- $137.79 for five Lyft rideshares in New York City at 10:12 pm and 4:08 am on 4-5 March 2023, which included a two-hour stop at “the longest running lesbian bar in the country.”
- $82.50 for dinner at a “restaurant in Baltimore” despite the receipt address being for a tobacco/vape store.
- Love Inside for Everyone (LIFE, Inc) was given
- $4,000 to cover rental fees for a nightclub (run by the nonprofit’s director) to host monthly “diva brunches”
- Over $90,000 with no receipts or supporting documentation provided to the Department of Health
- Funds to host Gay Pride Weekend in Jackson, MS, in 2023
- Love Me Unlimited 4 Life was given over $140,000, which they spent entirely on salaries with a requirement to hire people who identify “as Gender Non-Conformant (GNC), Aged 17-34 that are People with HIV (PWH), members of the LGBTQIA community, and/or at risk for acquiring HIV.”
“This past legislative session, Mississippi State Senate leadership passed a bill through committee that specifically deleted my office’s ability to investigate nonprofits receiving less than $10 million in taxpayer funds,” said White. “I’m glad the bill failed, because clearly these nonprofits need to be scrutinized. This waste of taxpayer funds must stop.”
Mississippians can report any instances of fraud, waste, or abuse of taxpayer funds spent by nonprofits by emailing nonprofitwaste@osa.ms.gov or calling 1-800-321-1275.
MageeNews.com is the online news source for Simpson and surrounding counties as well as the State of Mississippi