1988 Harmon & Weiss Report to the HSUS Audit Committee

In 1988 a group of HSUS Board members asked the Washington, DC law firm of Harmon & Weiss to prepare a report detailing the organizational consequences of several financial irregularities.

During the previous years, a small “Deferred Compensation Committee”—originally set up to handle retirement benefits for HSUS senior staff—had expanded its role to include the assignment of fringe benefits to HSUS’s top executives. These perks included rent-free housing, and the use of an HSUS-affiliate shell corporation to funnel extra income to HSUS president and treasurer.

This file contains the lengthy report that Gail Harmon, Esq. prepared for the group of “dissident” HSUS Board members who were concerned about the tax implications, and HSUS’s legal liabilities, arising from the Deferred Compensation Committee’s behavior.