Report: FBI, IRS investigating ex-girlfriend of Kurt Busch
Patricia Driscoll, Kurt Busch's ex-girlfriend who accused him of domestic assault, is reportedly being investigated by the IRS and FBI.
According to ESPN's Outside the Lines, which published reports about the financial transactions of Driscoll's companies in May, the government agencies are investigating her over allegations she mishandled money.
Documents that the FBI has access to reveal not only tax paperwork discrepancies but also personal expense questions: The foundation wrote a $15,000 check toward Driscoll's legal fees to a law firm involved in her child-custody case; it paid $6,315.22 for an infrared security camera shipped to her Maryland residence; and it picked up the tab for personal expenses on vacations to Paris and Morocco. Alongside Driscoll's $171,027 foundation salary, documents show she received substantial bonuses for fundraising -- none of which was declared on the foundation's tax filings or audit reports reviewed by Outside the Lines.
Driscoll is the chairperson of the Armed Forces Foundation, a charity set up to benefit military members, and also works for Frontline Defense Systems, a defense contracting company.
Driscoll accused Busch of assault on September 26 in Dover at his motorhome. A Delaware family court commissioner ruled it was more likely than not that Busch committed an act of assault that night. However, the Delaware attorney general's office declined to press criminal charges because of a lack of evidence.
As part of the commissioner's ruling, Driscoll was granted a protection order against Busch. It was upheld after appeal.
Busch was indefinitely suspended by NASCAR after the commissioner's ruling. Following the attorney general's decision to not press charges, Busch was reinstated after he missed three races. He was given a waiver for the Chase for the Sprint Cup and will likely be in NASCAR's playoffs after he won at Richmond in April.
Outside the Lines said Driscoll has refused to comment for their stories, though she did issue a statement.
This week, in response to email questions sent to Wood, Driscoll issued a statement describing Outside the Lines' pursuit of the story as "shameful,'' saying her only connection to sports is her having been the alleged victim of domestic violence at the hands of a professional athlete, Busch. She also "unequivocally denied any allegation that she has used AFF funds to pay any of her personal expenses." Wood referred to the allegations raised by Outside the Lines as "baseless" while adding: "Neither AFF nor Ms. Driscoll is aware of any current federal investigations being conducted into the operation of AFF.''
The statement about Driscoll's sports connections is tenuous. And that's being very, very, very generous. NASCAR executives have been on the board of the Armed Forces Foundation and the organization has hosted regular events for soldiers at races. While dating Busch, Driscoll took on a very public role, almost serving as the driver's unofficial spokesperson. She was incredibly active on Twitter and was front and center while the 2004 Sprint Cup Series champion ran both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day in 2014.
Driscoll and Busch had broken up before the incident in his motorhome.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
