AG investigating CPRIT Foundation
Foundation changes name, mission; questions surround fate of donation
American-Statesman Staff
"Attorney General Greg Abbott is investigating what is happening to money raised by the foundation that supported the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, and is reviewing how the foundation was transformed into a different entity last month.
The attorney general also asked that the CPRIT Foundation, now re-named the Texas Cancer Coalition, stop spending or obligating its funds until legal questions are resolved.
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The CPRIT Foundation, which used the same name as the state agency, raised $3.6 million over three years to supplement the six-figure salaries of the agency’s top two executives and to host conferences on fighting cancer.
But the foundation also was swept up in the controversy surrounding the CPRIT, which is being investigated for mismanaging at least $56 million in grants. Travis County prosecutors began investigating last year after it was disclosed the agency awarded an $11 million grant to a Dallas startup without any scientific or business review.
The agency’s top three executives have resigned as the investigation continues.
The foundation, which shared some board members with the state agency, refused for months to disclose the name of its donors despite some lawmakers’ concerns that donations could be used to influence the agency’s decisions on awarding grants.
Earlier this month, foundation officials decided to stop supplementing agency salaries and change its name and mission."
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