'The funds are safe' - The Completionist responds to "charity fraud" allegations against The Open Hand Foundation

Prominent gaming YouTuber Jirard Khalil, aka The Completionist, has responded to "charity fraud" allegations against his venture, The Open Hand Foundation. For context, YouTube content creator Karl Jobst uploaded a video on November 14, 2023, titled, This Charity Is Lying To You. In the 12-minute feature, Jobst accused the charitable venture of allegedly generating revenue under false pretenses.

Jobst supported his claims by sharing information from publicly available tax returns, which revealed the Open Hand Foundation had received hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Completionist took to X (formerly Twitter) on December 10, 2023, to "assure" the community that the funds raised by the organization were "safe and accounted for." He also claimed that the money had been donated:

"Hey everyone. I know you all have had questions. I want to assure you all that the funds we have raised together through IndieLand and The Open Hand Foundation are safe, accounted for, and have been donated. $600k went to a leading charity that specializes in FTD, and was matched for a total of $800k to fight dementia."

The Completionist then apologized to those affected by the situation, saying that a 19-minute video posted to their channel would "bring some clarity and transparency" to the allegations:

"I am deeply sorry and want to apologize to anyone affected by this situation. I hope this video helps bring some clarity and transparency to the recent allegations."

The social media update concluded with The Completionist writing that the video titled My Response would be his "only video response on the topic":

"Moving forward, this will be my only video response on the topic. Thank you for your patience and support."

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"My family and I have not done anything illegal" - Jirard Khalil "The Completionist" responds to charity fraud allegations

At the 16-minute mark of the video, My Response, The Completionist asserted that the allegations of embezzlement leveled against The Open Hand Foundation were "categorically false." He elaborated:

"Saying that we are fraudsters, that what we are doing is illegal and constitutes charity fraud - that we are using my dead mother's name to potentially embezzle money and steal is categorically false! I should've been more transparent about the money not being donated, and that's on me. But, my family and I have not done anything illegal. Not before then, and not since."

Jirard Khalil went on to say that IRS correspondents can prove that neither he nor his family had done anything "illegal" with The Open Hand Foundation's funds.

Timestamp: 16:20

The YouTuber then stated that he and his family were having "serious conversations" with their legal team about the "next steps":

"As mentioned previously, we have correspondents from the IRS to prove that. Furthermore, my family and I are in serious conversations with our legal teams regarding next steps, as the allegations that have been made, have been made with complete disregard for the truth of the matter. These allegations were made by individuals, who self-admittedly aren't even financial or legal professionals."

The Completionist added that the charity fraud allegations were "slanderous" and remarked:

"These allegations are slanderous and we believe were done with selfish intent. They have directly jeopardized the safety of me, my staff, and my family. Andhthat is not okay!"

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At the time of writing, Karl Jobst had not responded to The Completionist's recent video. It remains to be seen what he has to say.