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SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A nonprofit run by mayoral candidate and former NBA star Kevin Johnson used AmeriCorps grants to pay volunteers to engage in school-board political activities, run personal errands for Johnson and even wash his car, federal investigators say.
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The findings from an agency that oversees the grants were sent to federal prosecutors and listed in a letter to Johnson dated Wednesday that also says he will be prohibited from receiving federal money while the investigation is under way. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter Friday.
Johnson said he will appeal the decision and believes the U.S. attorney's office will find no substantial wrongdoing.
"Rest assured, I will fight this tooth and nail," Johnson said Friday during a campaign event. "I am optimistic about the outcome."
He spoke after he and NBA star Shaquille O'Neal shook hands with youths at a Sacramento Boys and Girls Club. O'Neal made no comments during the brief event.
Johnson said his 19-year-old organization, St. HOPE, is a worthy program that has helped young people succeed at leading colleges.
For three years, St. HOPE received money through AmeriCorps, which provides college grants to people who volunteer for certain community service programs. He handed over management responsibilities for St. HOPE this year so he could focus on his campaign to unseat Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo.
Investigators from the Corporation for National and Community Service say several jobs St. HOPE assigned to its volunteers fell outside the scope of the federal grants. They said those jobs included running errands for Johnson, washing his car, recruiting students to attend St. HOPE Academy, engaging in political activities related to a local school board race, traveling to New York to help promote an academy Johnson has opened in Harlem and performing cleaning duties.
"The evidence is adequate to suspect that you have committed irregularities which seriously reflect the propriety of further federal government dealings with you," William Anderson, who is in charge of suspensions for the corporation, wrote to Johnson.
On Friday, Johnson said he does not recall whether a volunteer ever went with him to a personal appointment. He suggested that volunteers might have participated in political campaigns on their own time. And he said trips for young people to New York helped broaden their life experiences.
"These are allegations; these are not facts," he said of the report.
The U.S. attorney's office in Sacramento said it had received a report from the corporation but would not discuss the case. Prosecutors will decide whether to file charges.
Bill Portanova, a former federal prosecutor who represents Johnson, said the allegations represented the opinion of one person and noted that the full report hasn't been vetted.
"We don't know what they're saying because we don't have it," Portanova said. "We do know, however, that volunteer organizations are staffed by people with good hearts and intentions. And, as a rule, are not accountants by trade."
Johnson's campaign issued a statement characterizing the problem as administrative errors.
"We have said all along that there may have been administrative errors, much like the hundreds of other small nonprofits that have been investigated in the past," the campaign said. "We are confident that the U.S. Attorney will decide not to proceed when it conducts a nonpolitical review of the allegations."
According to Wednesday's letter, the corporation's investigation is ongoing, but officials declined to elaborate on when it would be complete or whether money would have to repaid.
Johnson, who retired from the NBA in 2000, bested Fargo 47 percent to 40 percent in the June primary, but the two face a runoff Nov. 4 because Johnson did not get more than 50 percent of the vote. Sacramento city elections are nonpartisan.
