The Orion Foundation has been closed by the Canada Revenue Agency after authorities chanced upon a number of luxurious bookings and thousands of unexplained expenses of its founder, James Arion, according to a report from The Star.
In an investigative report, auditors outline how charity money was used for family trips, “leasehold improvements,” “legal, meal and liquor expenses,” and unexplainable management fees.
The auditors’ findings led them to the conclusion that the foundation’s “charitable purposes have been side-tracked for the purpose of participating in and promoting the tax shelter.” This includes a complex system of transactions taking out millions from donors upon the issuance of tax receipts that are way bigger than the paid amounts.
