Jirard Khalil, also known as The Completionist, is a popular YouTuber known for 100-percenting numerous video games. He’s also a recognized figure in the charity world, but recent videos by SomeOrdinaryGamers and Karl Jobst have revealed that Khalil’s own organization has withheld more than $600,000 in charitable contributions.
Jobst and Mutahar Anas of SomeOrdinaryGamers posted YouTube videos in which they shed light on Khalil’s Open Hand Foundation, which was founded in 2003 to help dementia patients and their families with the disease after Khalil’s own mother had been afflicted. The foundation has claimed to have raised more than $600,000 in the nine years since becoming a non-profit organization, although Khalil admitted to Jobst and Anas that none of the money has been donated to charity.
The money, which is just over $655,000, has instead remained in the organization’s accounts. When Jobst asked why the money never moved, Khalil claimed Open Hand had not found a suitable charity organization to donate the money to.
Over the years, Khalil has claimed partnerships with many reputable organizations, such as the University of San Francisco (UCSF) and the Alzheimer Foundation of America. Its cooperation with specific organizations, particularly the UCSF, has been claimed on its website and by Khalil himself. The former dean of UCSF, whom the organization quoted as thanking it for its donations, was fired in 2007, meaning he couldn’t have cooperated with Open Hand in the implied timeframe.
Khalil also asked Jobst to suggest any organizations he may have in mind, a point which Jobst commented on, saying that it’s contradictory. If the Open Hand cooperated with so many foundations, as named by Khalil, Jobst asked, why would it be searching for suitable ones?
In later parts of Jobst’s video, Khalil claimed he didn’t know the money hadn’t been donated until 2021. He also said he wasn’t notified of anything regarding the donated funds and took it upon himself to move them as soon as possible.
“I assumed it was all going to a charity, and I assumed incorrectly,” Khalil said.
Jobst left Khalil’s claims up for interpretation but said that nothing had changed in Khalil’s behavior following his alleged involvement in getting the funds to the proper address. Anas also added the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) should and likely will audit Open Hand due to its non-specific annual expenses.
Charities have always been a susceptible topic, and whether or not Open Hand broke any laws is up for the relevant addresses to determine.
Published: Nov 14, 2023 04:28 pm