Fourteen state attorneys general in the US have launched an investigation into FireAid, demanding answers about how its organizers distributed the $100 million raised during a benefit concert for Los Angeles wildfire victims.
The inquiry, led by Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, centers on growing complaints that fire victims have received no direct assistance despite public promises that donations would go “directly to the people who need it now.”
Drummond said: “In Oklahoma and across the nation we witnessed the devastation inflicted on Los Angeles County by these massive wildfires. Oklahomans are always quick to offer help. It’s no surprise that many donated to Fire Aid to provide direct relief to victims, but now we are seeing questions about whether these donations are being used as intended.”
The January 2025 benefit concert series was held at the Intuit Dome and the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, drawing 50 million viewers.
As MBW previously reported, the total funds raised include ticket sales for the two concerts, sponsorships, merchandise sales, and donations from the public, including “generous private gifts” from the Azoff family, the Eagles, Andrew Hauptman and Ellen Bronfman Hauptman, and U2.
“Oklahomans are always quick to offer help. It’s no surprise that many donated to Fire Aid to provide direct relief to victims, but now we are seeing questions about whether these donations are being used as intended.”
Gentner Drummond, Oklahoma Attorney General
Republican Congressman Kevin Kiley has already pushed for a Department of Justice investigation, while US President Donald Trump labeled the effort “a total disaster” on Truth Social.
In response to the criticism, FireAid said it has $75 million has been distributed across two phases to more than 160 nonprofit organizations, schools, and local groups that were vetted by Goldman Sachs.
The remaining $25 million is expected to be distributed by year-end, with all results subject to an independent audit by KPMG in December 2025.
In a letter sent August 6 to FireAid President Gillian Zucker, the attorneys general gave the organization 10 business days to provide information about how it distributed the funds, how it vetted the organizations that received or will receive grants, as well as its relationship with The Annenberg Foundation, among others.
“A significant number of recent reports have raised concerns that fire victims have yet to receive any funds or assistance from Fire Aid or the frontline nonprofits and local organizations it partnered with to distribute direct aid.”
Gentner Drummond, Oklahoma Attorney General
The attorneys general’s demands include donation breakdowns by state, copies of grant agreements with recipient organizations, information about restrictions placed on grant recipients, measures to ensure funds benefit victims directly, and whether audit results will be made public.
Participating attorneys general represent Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.
Drummond said: “A significant number of recent reports have raised concerns that fire victims have yet to receive any funds or assistance from Fire Aid or the frontline nonprofits and local organizations it partnered with to distribute direct aid.”
In his letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi two weeks ago, Rep. Kiley, who represents California’s 3rd congressional district, said some of the nonprofits listed as beneficiaries of the FireAid concert “don’t even operate in the LA area.”
Citing an independent report by Fox11 in Los Angeles and Circling the News, Rep. Kiley said “have uncovered that those donations were instead diverted to a number of nonprofits, many of which have a tenuous connection (at best) to fire relief and recovery.”
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