The American International Center
The American International Center (AIC) was a shell company used by Jack Abramoff and Michael Scanlon to funnel money.
The center was born in 2001 when Abramoff and Scanlon approached two childhood friends, lifeguard David Grosh and yoga instructor Brian Mann. According to Grosh's Senate testimony, Scanlon asked him "Want to be head of an international corporation?" When Grosh asked what kind of work was involved, Scanlon replied, "Nothing." Grosh remained in the position for six months before quitting when it became clear that Abramoff and Scanlon's scheme involved the government, gambling, and tribes. During that time, he recalls one fifteen-minute board meeting. Brian Mann has refused to testify.
Key Points:
AIC was a fake company used to launder money.
When Grosh agreed to provide what the AIC's website would describe as "high-power directorship," Scanlon and Abramoff rewarded him with $2,500 and ice hockey tickets. Grosh and Mann lived in the headquarters of the fake think tank, a $4 million home Scanlon bought in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
The center's website, since shut down, touted its "global minded purpose of enhancing the methods of empowerment for territories, commonwealths, and sovereign nations in possession of and within the United States" and its mission "to expand the parameters of international discourse in an effort to leverage the combined power of world intellect."
The American International Center, though it described itself as "bringing great minds together from all over the globe," existed only in the Rehoboth Beach house and on paper, where it served as a conduit for Abramoff and Scanlon.
Research by Josh Eidelson
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