The Haitian charity founded by the musician Wyclef Jean is coming under scrutiny for the amount it spends on administrative activities instead of philanthropic programs, The Washington Post reports.

In addition, the organization has made payments to businesses owned by Wyclef Jean and a board member of the charity, the newspaper said.

Dean Zerbe, a former Senate aide who specializes in nonprofit issues, advised donors to be cautious about giving to the charity because of questions about how it uses its money. “Consider the significant number of charities that have been doing good work in Haiti that don’t have those question marks,” he told the newspaper.

Hugh Locke, president of Yele Haiti, the musician’s charity, told the newspaper that it hopes to reduce its administrative spending as it gains more experience. But he said all the money donated to earthquake relief will be spent on charitable purposes.

Update: On Saturday night Wyclef Jean posted a response to charges raised about this charity on his group’s blog.

(Read an article about Wyclef Jean’s charity from The Chronicle’s archive.)