The ACORN 8 is an organization of ACORN leaders; current and former board members who are struggling to reform the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now following the discovery of a multi-million dollar embezzlement.

We’re a group of ACORN members — leaders at the state and national level — who asked hard questions about an embezzlement and cover-up that occurred eight years ago within the organization. The founder’s brother embezzled about $1 million from ACORN. He was allowed to remain employed at ACORN. The embezzlement was carried as a loan. The cover-up was sold to the President and senior staff as something that needed to be handled internally, so that Republicans couldn’t use the information against ACORN.

Our group, now known as the ACORN 8, asked to see the books. This request, well within the rights of board members, was refused. We attempted to resolve the problem. Marcel Reid and Karen Inman, having been elected by the National Board and given the right to enlist help to straighten out ACORN, hired a firm to investigate the financial operation of CCI, the accounting firm controlled by ACORN.

At that point the staff understood that we weren’t going to be a rubber stamp for their activities. We filed a temporary restraining order to stop destruction of financial records, and to get an an accounting from the founder and accounting firm.

Staff organized members to get us to stop the investigation and to withdraw the lawsuit. They convinced the board to withdraw the temporary restraining order. However, they were not successful at silencing the ACORN 8. The original eight, plus leaders from across the country, obtained a writ of mandamus, a court order to the organization compelling it to properly discharge its duties. But with its large budget and considerable resources, ACORN was able to delay and postpone. ACORN 8 does not have the large resources of ACORN, but we do have voices that will not be silenced.