Evan Montvel Cohen - Air America

Air America

See also: Air America-Gloria Wise loan controversy

In 2003, Cohen was working as Director of Development for the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Clubs when he and business partner Rex Sorensen, CEO of Sorensen Media Group, created Progress Media Inc. On March 31, 2004, Air America was launched with much fanfare on flagship WLIB in New York City. Soon afterward it was discovered that Cohen had secured part of the money used to found the network by a loan from his employer, the non-profit Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Clubs. Approved by the board of directors and in the amount of $480,000, it went to Cohen's company Progress Media, then owner of Air America Radio. The Gloria Wise group was a non-profit organization, partially funded by the city of New York, which provided services for children and seniors in the Bronx. The city suspended further funding of the agency, and Boys and Girls Clubs of America revoked the group's right to use their name, likeness or logo. When the funds were transferred, Evan Montvel Cohen, was still Director of Development for Gloria Wise. This was part of a larger misappropriation of funds by the organization's executives, which saw several of them receiving money from the organization that was in turn used for personal expenditures. By the time this was revealed, Progress Media Inc. had sold its Air America rights to Piquant LLC (in November 2004), who subsequently agreed to repay Gloria Wise $875,000 worth of the debt, as a condition of the sale.