A former senior official with the nonprofit Mriya Report has made explosive allegations, claiming that donations collected to support Ukraine were improperly spent on items like pizzas, Home Depot purchases, and unauthorized payments, including to a convicted felon connected to former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Allegations of Financial Misconduct Surface
Ryan Meyer, a co-founder of the U.S.-registered Mriya Report, publicly outlined these claims in a detailed broadcast on the social media platform X on January 1, 2026. The organization was founded by Canadian Forces Capt. Joseph Friedberg. Meyer stated he resigned from the board due to persistent worries about financial irregularities he links to Friedberg.
"It kind of breaks my heart that an organization that I thought was supposed to be helping people in (Ukraine) turned out to be enriching a Canadian," Meyer said during the broadcast, which attracted over 27,000 listeners.
Questionable Expenses and Payments Revealed
During his presentation, Meyer published pages of the Mriya Report's bank statements. These documents reportedly showed a pattern of spending that appeared unrelated to humanitarian aid in Ukraine. The alleged expenses included:
- Payments for gasoline at stations in the Toronto area.
- Purchases at retailers like Best Buy and Home Depot.
- Car rentals in Ontario.
- Multiple purchases of pizzas.
- Tens of thousands of dollars for storage units in Canada, which Meyer argued had no clear link to aiding Ukraine.
Meyer also highlighted payments totaling more than $50,000 U.S. to various officials on the Mriya Report's board. He emphasized that the nonprofit's founding charter, which he authorized, explicitly stipulated that no officials or volunteers were to be paid. The sole focus, he added, was to direct all funds to support Ukraine.
A History of Concerns and Unanswered Questions
Questions about the Mriya Report's operations first arose publicly in September 2024, when its 24 volunteers abruptly resigned en masse. At the time, they issued a statement citing "various ethical concerns" as their reason for severing all ties with the organization.
Other former volunteers joined Meyer on the X broadcast, echoing concerns about serious managerial and accountability issues within the charity. It is important to note that the allegations from Meyer and the volunteers have not been independently verified.
Meyer specifically alleged that among the unauthorized payments was one to a convicted felon linked to Donald Trump. While not named in the summary, the original article's context points to Lev Parnas, an associate of Trump's former lawyer Rudy Giuliani who was indicted on campaign finance charges.
Capt. Joseph Friedberg did not respond to multiple recent requests for comment from the Ottawa Citizen. However, in a November 17, 2022 email to the same newspaper, Friedberg described the Mriya Report as "an online information space that speaks to Ukrainians" and claimed, "I receive no money…none of the volunteers touch money."
Scott Harper, listed in a recent document as the Mriya Report's president, also did not respond to requests for comment. The situation leaves significant unanswered questions about the flow of donations intended for a nation in crisis and underscores the importance of transparency in charitable organizations.
