NM school lost millions in charity deal

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - They were supposed to raise money for a New Mexico school that desperately needs it but $9 million dollars later, where is that cash?

About 200 kids, 90 percent of them living below the poverty level, receive an education from the  St. Bonaventure Indian Mission and School off I-40 between Grants and Gallup in Thoreau, NM.

St. Bonaventure relies on donations and reached out to Quadriga Art, LLC for help. The Dutch fundraising company has been the center of a congressional investigation and one of their biggest victims is St. Bonaventure.

The international company sends mailers to people on the behalf of charities asking for donations. In exchange for doing all the leg work, Quadriga Art keeps a portion of the money but, in St. Bonaventure’s case it was all the money; $9 million to be exact. To top it off, Quadriga Art actually claims the non-profit school owes the company money, approximately $5 million dollars.

CNN investigated the company's deals with St. Bonaventure as well as a long list of other charities that have either lost out on money or ended up owing Quadriga Art.

CEO Mark Schulhof posted a response to the CNN stories on the company's website. “For 70 years my family has been doing this, serving the community, making a difference in the world, not once have we ever been fined, not once have we ever been charged we get inquires all the time.”

That could change though. The U.S. Senate's Finance Committee is now looking through Quadriga Art's books to see just how much money the company has been pocketing from charities.

As for the St. Bonaventure School in Thoreau, the Diocese of Gallup which overseas the school, says it did not know about the Quadriga Art deal but does say the school has stopped doing business with the company. They would not comment further.

Quadriga Art is also accused of ripping off veterans' charities. In one case, Quadriga Art raised $22 million dollars but allegedly took more than $18 million of that in fees.

Quadriga Art defends its reputation, claiming it's helped save a string of non-profits on the brink of going under, including the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in Canada.