Gandhi Memorial International Foundation

Gandhi Memorial International Foundation, also known as the Mahatma Gandhi International Foundation, was a controversial non-profit organization run by Yogesh K. Gandhi, born Yogesh Kathari,[1] who claims to be related to Mahatma Gandhi. However, an immediate descendant of Mahatma Gandhi, publicly stated that Yogesh K. Gandhi was a "scam artist", and "interested primarily in enriching himself." Yogesh Gandhi described the organization as dedicated to "social betterment through nonviolence." The organization gave out the "Mahatma Gandhi Humanitarian Award". The organization's business dealings were investigated by the United States Senate, in March 1998. Mother Jones referred to the organization as: "a shadowy non-profit enterprise devoted in principle to 'promoting the philosophy of non-violence'."

In 1987, Gandhi gave an award to Ryochi Sasakawa; in 1988 the Gandhi Memorial International Foundation gave Werner Erhard, Joan Baez, Shirley Temple Black, and David Packard its "Mahatma Gandhi Humanitarian Award". This award was also given in 1995 to Hogen Fukunaga, an individual that a United States Senate investigation described as "a Japanese multimillionaire who runs a controversial religious organization in Japan and faces multiple legal problems in Japan from people claiming to have been defrauded by his organization."wiki