ATLANTA,None — The director of Hosea Feed the Hungry apologized for sending an email asking for donations to her daughter's wedding even as the secretary of state's office confirmed it is conducting an investigation into the incident.
Elisabeth Omilami took full responsibility for the email, which announced the marriage of her daughter and asked for donations to a "New Nest Fund" to help her daughter build a new house. The email included a link where recipients could click to contribute money.
But Thursday, Omilami told Channel 2's Richard Elliot that she sent the email to the wrong email list so Hosea Feed the Hungry contributors received it instead of friends and family.
She insisted the "New Nest Fund" account was completely separate from any "Hosea Feed the Hungry" accounts, and that the two could not be mixed. She also said, so far, no contributions have come in for her daughter's wedding.
"I take full responsibility for the entire incident," Omilami told Elliot. "It all falls on my shoulders, and whatever comes about as a result of this, I want to be the blame. "
Still, the email raised enough eyebrows that at least one email recipient complained to the secretary of state's office.
While the office would not comment directly on the incident, a representative did confirm the complaint and the opening of an investigation to see if the email violated any state laws or regulations governing charitable organizations.
"If and when we receive a complaint about misuse or potential violations, then the secretary of state's office can open an investigation to see if there was a potential violation," the representative said.
Omilami told Elliot she is ready to cooperate fully with the secretary of state's office.
"I don't have anything to hide," she said. "I'm wide open. I apologize, and if the secretary of state comes to interview me, I'll tell him the same thing, that I personally made a mistake."
Omilami has been in charge of Feed the Hungry since her father, civil rights icon Rev. Hosea Williams, passed away in 2000. She told Elliot that her office has been busy collecting supplies for tornado victims and other people in need.
"Anybody who knows me and knows the history of this organization knows that I would never jeopardize the work that we do for any reason," said Omilami. "There is no way in the world that I would take my father's legacy and sully it by intentionally doing something that obviously is not the right thing to do."
WSBTV
