Veterans at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetary
The nonprofit Honor Flight program brings U.S. military veterans to Washington, D.C., to thank them for their service. The veterans are taken to the World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War memorials, and then to Arlington National Cemetery to view the changing of the guard ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. (Photo: Curt Epstein)
Flying

Woman Accused of Pocketing Charitable Donations

Joni Nogay faces felony charges for stealing $80,000 intended to finance flights for veterans to Washington, D.C.

Mark Huber
|
July 2023

A Wisconsin woman was charged on June 22 with felony theft for allegedly pocketing $80,000 that her charity had collected to support honor flights of military veterans to Washington, D.C. Joni Nogay, 60, faces up to 10 years in prison and $25,000 in fines if convicted. Prosecutors allege that Nogay collected $100,000 from her charity, “We Run—They Fly,” which conducts an annual 5K run in Milwaukee in support of the flights but deposited the funds in her personal account and disbursed only $20,000 of it to the Stars and Stripes Honor Flights between 2013 and 2023. 

Nogay’s attorney, Daniel Morgan Adams, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that she's "dead set on making everyone harmed in this controversy whole. Joni Nogay had every intention of being a community servant, and one thing led to another," he said. "She is ready to make good on this situation.”

Milwaukee-based Stars and Stripes was founded in 2008 and has flown more than 8,000 veterans to Washington. It is part of the National Honor Flight Network, which, since 2005, has flown more than 250,000 veterans, beginning with those who served in World War II, to see the memorials in the nation’s capital dedicated to their service. 

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