Kurt Busch's ex charged with stealing from military charity
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In this May 22, 2014, file photo, Kurt Busch, left, stands with Patricia Driscoll before qualifying for a NASCAR Sprint Cup series auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)
The former girlfriend of NASCAR driver Kurt Busch was charged Tuesday with stealing from a military charity she led.
Court documents don't say how much prosecutors believe Patricia Driscoll took from the District of Columbia-based Armed Forces Foundation, whose mission is to support service members, veterans and their families.
But a 2014 tax form for the nonprofit says that the "foundation has become aware of suspected misappropriations" by Driscoll totaling more than $599,000 for the years 2006 to 2014. It says she misused money for meals, travel, parking tickets, makeup and personal gifts.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Driscoll was indicted on seven federal charges: two counts each of wire fraud, mail fraud, and tax evasion, and one count of attempts to interfere with administration of Internal Revenue laws. She also faces a first degree fraud charge under District of Columbia law.
An 11-page indictment charges Driscoll with using foundation money to pay her personal bills, diverting foundation funds to her personal bank account and lying to the Internal Revenue Service about her salary and benefits.
Driscoll, 38, of Ellicott City, Maryland, declined to comment when reached by phone Tuesday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"All the allegations that have been made are unproven, and Ms. Driscoll contests them and looks forward to her opportunity to do so in court," her attorney, Barry J. Pollack, said Tuesday evening.
Driscoll had resigned from the charity in 2015 amid an internal investigation into published reports alleging that she used foundation funds for her personal expenses. At the time she left, she had been president of the foundation for 12 years.
Driscoll and Bush had a very public breakup in 2014 after she accused him of physically and verbally abusing her about a week after they split. Driscoll said Busch smashed her head into a bedroom wall and choked her in his motorhome at Dover International Speedway in Delaware. Law enforcement officials said there was not enough evidence to bring criminal charges against him, but a family court commissioner in the state ultimately granted her request for a protective order requiring Busch to stay away from her.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}As a result, NASCAR suspended Busch two days before the Daytona 500. He sat out the first three races of the 2015 season before being reinstated.