Charity Driscoll: The Woman Who Stole Kurt Busch's Heart

The former girlfriend of NASCAR star Kurt Busch is accused of stealing $600,000 from a military charity she was president of for 12 years.Patricia Driscoll was charged Tuesday with embezzling money from the Armed Forces Foundation, whose mission is to support service members, veterans and their families, is a D.C.-based nonprofit. Its work includes direct assistance programs, advocacy campaigns and improving military-civilian reintegration efforts.Driscoll led the charity for 12 years as president.

Driscoll spent charity money on personal expenses, credit cards

The court documents in the case don’t say how much Driscoll took from the charity, but a 2014 tax form says that “the foundation has become aware of suspected misappropriations” by Patricia totaling more than $599,000 from 2006 to 2014.The charity reported $2.3 million in donations in 2014, and reports that 94 to 96 percent of donations go directly to military members and their families.She allegedly misused the funds for personal expenses, including meals, travel, parking tickets, makeup and gifts. She reported sham donors, spent foundation money to cover personal credit card debt, and failed to disclose fundraising comissions she received in addition to her $154,440 salary.Driscoll was indicted on seven federal charges: two counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, two counts of tax evasion and one count of attempting to interfere with the administration of the Internal Revenue Service.She also faces a first-degree fraud charge in the District of Columbia.She resigned from the charity in 2015 after an internal investigation into her misappropriation of foundation funds.Patricia Driscoll and Kurt Busch broke up in 2014 after allegations that Busch had physically and verbally abused her during their relationship. Driscoll accused the NASCAR driver of smashing her head on a bedroom wall and choking her while at Dover International Speedway in Delaware.Law enforcement officials declined to prosecute, citing lack of evidence. A family court commissioner later granted a restraining order against Busch.Because of the domestic abuse accusations, NASCAR suspended Kurt Busch for three races in 2015.