Eagles Healing Nest, Attorney General’s Office Reach Settlement Over Alleged Misuse of Funds

(KNSI) — The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office has reached a settlement with the Eagles Healing Nest regarding the alleged misuse of funds.

According to a press release, EHN’s former director, Melony Butler, took money meant to be used for the charity and spent it on clothing, beauty treatments, gambling and cigarettes. An Assurance of Discontinuance was filed, saying Butler failed to operate under the supervision of EHN’s board, which allowed her unsupervised access to funds. It also says EHN failed to maintain proper books and records, implement controls over the finances, and didn’t make required regulatory filings with the state and federal government.

The Eagles Healing Nest was founded in Sauk Centre in 2012 by Butler to help soldiers, veterans, and their families by providing food, housing, and other services. In 2022, Melony’s husband, Blaine Butler, was charged with four felonies after allegedly failing to file state income tax returns from 2017 through 2020.

The Minnesota Department of Revenue says despite receiving multiple letters from the department demanding they file the missing returns, the Butlers allegedly failed to do so until the investigation was nearly complete. However, the complaint states that those returns were based solely on Mr. Butler’s W-2 income and did not include the taxable income they received from Eagle’s Healing Nest.

The Department of Revenue turned the case over to the Charities Division at the Attorney General’s Office, which launched an investigation under the state’s civil nonprofit corporation and charitable trust laws.

The Assurance requires the EHN to sever ties with Butler, be in compliance with charities laws, and strengthen its governance practices. Butler must also pay back $10,000 as restitution for the money she took and used in herself. She is also banned from serving as an officer or director of a nonprofit in Minnesota.

“Minnesotans are generous folks and donate their hard-earned money to causes they believe in. Helping our veterans is a very noble cause, so it is all the more disappointing when charitable funds meant for veterans are misused,” Attorney General Ellison said. “The public relies on charities to have proper controls and to make sure funds are being used toward the organization’s charitable mission. Eagle’s Healing Nest lost sight of these important controls and degraded the public’s trust. This settlement marks a path forward for Eagle’s Healing Nest to rebuild that trust and ensure that its resources are serving its mission of assisting Minnesota soldiers and veterans.”

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