(AP, WJLA) -- An official with a local group that was accused of misusing D.C. AIDS grant money says that reports of their alleged financial mismanagement is inaccurate.

Continue reading

Cornell Jones, the Community Development President of Miracle Hands, says that a report in the Washington Post about his group is "filled with inaccuracies" and "false and misleading statements."

Miracle Hands is accused in a lawsuit of using money from the District's HIV/AIDS program to renovate a warehouse that's now a strip club. The lawsuit alleges that the group and its executive director improperly diverted nearly $330,000 in grant money for renovation work at two warehouses.

Jones says that he's an "easy target" for criticism because of his past as a drug kingpin.

"I know people were expecting us to make a mistake," he said in a statement. "Instead, we developed one of the most comprehensive programs for poor HIV-AIDS residents in the city at a time when this community didn't know how to deal with the challenges."