Armed Forces Foundation |Former Director Indicted

WASHINGTON (CN) — The former executive director of the Armed Forces Foundation, a nonprofit aiding military members and their families, was indicted Tuesday on charges she defrauded veterans.

Driscoll, 38, a one-time girlfriend of NASCAR driver Kurt Busch, was charged with two counts each of tax evasion, wire fraud and mail fraud.

She was also charged with one count of attempting to interfere with the administration of tax laws, the indictment said.

She will be arraigned at a later date in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

"Ms. Driscoll hoped that we would not get to this point, but now that the government has decided to charge, she looks forward to be able to contest these unproven allegations in court," Driscoll attorney Barry Pollack said in an email to Courthouse News Wednesday morning.

The Justice Department says Driscoll's alleged improprieties began as far back as 2010.

The tax-exempt Armed Forces Foundation collects donations under the names of U.S. Armed Forces Association or the Veterans Support Foundation, and regularly claimed that between 94 and 96 percent of its donations went directly to supporting military veterans and their families.

But according to the indictment, Driscoll, who served as the foundation's executive director for 12 years, didn't follow the legal requirements for an individual working for a tax exempt organization.

She allegedly failed to disclose her salary or benefits on an obligatory Form 990 filing, and appeared to have misrepresented her income altogether, the indictment says.

Driscoll is also accused of failing to include fundraising commissions in disclosure documents and of purposefully miscategorizing her expenses for a number of charitable activities completed during her tenure. Instead, the DOJ claims that Driscoll expensed items that were actually for her own use, including paying the rent on the commercial space Driscoll used for her for-profit business, Frontline Defense in Washington, D.C.

The Justice Department also alleges that Driscoll hid stolen funds from her accountants, and forced other employees of the nonprofit to do her bidding.

"She is accused of falsely reporting and causing others to falsely report the amount of donations received by the foundation ... by inflating the amounts of donations, incorrectly listing the types of donations, and including donors who did not, in fact, actually donate," a written statement from the department said.

If found guilty, Driscoll will be forced to forfeit her assets to the United States.

A representative from foundation failed to return attempts to reach it for comment by phone and email.

Driscoll made headlines in 2014 when she accused Kurt Busch of smashing her head into a bedroom wall and choking her inside of his Delaware motor home.

Busch was not charged criminally in the matter, but Driscoll was granted a protective order against him.

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