The Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability lacks the authority to investigate the handling of funds raised in the aftermath of the Oct. 25, 2023, mass shooting in Lewiston, Attorney General Aaron Frey told lawmakers Wednesday.
The Maine State Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee met in Augusta to hear from the Attorney General’s office on whether it should recommend OPEGA investigate the Maine Community Foundation’s handling of donations following the mass shooting that killed 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar and grille.
OPEGA is an independent legislative office that monitors and evaluates state programs and agencies.
The Lewiston-Auburn Area Response Fund was created in the aftermath of the attacks, with the One Lewiston Fund from the LA Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce forming shortly after, and Maine Community Foundation later taking over the collection and disbursement of funds.
The Maine Community Foundation established the fund as two components: one for victims’ families and survivors, and another for a broader community recovery effort. Options for donations included investment into either component or a split into both. Private funds collected by the city of Lewiston and One Lewiston Fund were split among Maine Community Foundation’s dual efforts. The money was then distributed with guidance from a steering committee.
As of March 2024, Maine Community Foundation reported it had distributed $4.7 million to 162 victims, survivors and family members of those killed. Some $1.9 million went to 29 local nonprofits, each receiving about $65,000. The grants were intended to support trauma counseling and other services such as legal and social services, emergency food and transportation and other programs for those affected by the shooting and for the wider community.
Victims’ families and those affected by the shooting questioned the fund’s handling in 2024 after some said they were denied assistance and that area nonprofits were not spending funds to benefit victims’ family members and survivors.
“When I heard about the tragedy in my hometown of Lewiston, Ann and I stepped up and raised almost half a million dollars because we wanted to help these families. The victims and families of the Lewiston shooting deserve answers,” said former Gov. Paul LePage, who is the Republican nominee for Maine’s 2nd District U.S. House seat.
“From the beginning, I have said this is about broken trust,” he said. “Mainers opened their hearts and their wallets because they believed their donations would help the people whose lives were devastated by this tragedy. Victims and families have raised serious questions about where that money went, what donors were told, and how decisions were made. Leaders owe it to the victims and their families to find these answers.”
The Attorney General’s office said in October 2024 that it found no evidence of improper collection of funds by Maine Community Foundation. No legal concerns were identified with the organization’s processes and there were no legal restrictions on how the money was used.
Maine Community Foundation said in June 2025 that the community fund was intended to support community organizations supporting victims’ families and survivors and that families had been consulted in the process.
The Government Oversight Committee considered years of questions Wednesday morning about how donations were raised and disbursed.
Frey said his office concluded that the money consisted only of private donations, not public funds, which means that the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability does not have jurisdiction to investigate Maine Community Foundation, which took possession of existing private donations from the One Lewiston Fund, collected further private donations and disbursed them among families and community organizations.
Some donations passed through Lewiston’s recreation department immediately after the shootings took place. The separate One Lewiston Fund was established by the Lewiston-Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce to collect donations and Maine Community Foundation began collecting donations as well.
Frey said Lewiston did not take ownership of funds collected nor did the city use funds or direct how funds were to be spent once relinquishing the account to the One Lewiston Fund. The One Lewiston Fund, after making initial expenditures to help families, relinquished all funds to Maine Community Foundation, who then spearheaded donation efforts.
Government Oversight Committee members questioned whether OPEGA could investigate how Maine Community Fund handled money that donors believed was going to victims’ families and survivors. Frey said the accountability office’s authority focuses on government programs and that MCF was not spending money on behalf of state or local government.
Examining the handling of the money is not out of the question, however, Frey said. His office has the authority to investigate allegations of the misuse of charitable funds through the Maine Charitable Solicitations Act, which examines breaches of charitable trust or intentional misrepresentation to donors.
Despite public assertions that donors, as well as victims’ families and survivors, were misled in the donation process, Frey said, to date, his office has not received complaints from donors alleging they were misled about where funds would go. He pointed out that Maine Community Foundation, in its collection efforts, gave two options for donations: to victims’ families and survivors or to community organizations.
Frey said though there is not enough evidence to investigate, people can still submit complaints under the Maine Charitable Solicitations Act.
“If more evidence develops,” Frey said, “it may very well change the outcome of this analysis. It depends on the facts.”
Lewiston City Council President Joshua Nagine, of Ward 1, provided a letter to GOC, the oversight committee, asking that OPEGA provide an overview of the city’s involvement in fundraising and the decision-making around the donation funds. He asked that the OPEGA investigate claims of wrongdoing or “mistakes made by the City or our partners.”
“I further urge Maine Community Foundation to provide an accounting for the actions taken and the rationale and metrics used for the decisions that led to the allocation of funds to area nonprofits as part of the broad based recovery fund distribution,” Nagine’s letter continued. “I would also hope that (Maine Community Foundation) would be open to dialogue and consider entering into mediation between aggrieved members of our larger community who were present or impacted by the horrific tragedy and advocates for those impacted by the mass shooting events which occurred in Lewiston.
“Last,” he wrote, “I urge the current State Administration and legislative body to consider that some families of victims and survivors of the events of October 25th still have unresolved financial obligations directly tied to medical expenses and mental health services received after the shootings as well as loss of income which has led to housing instability and other hardships for some due to the trauma caused by the events of that night and do whatever is in your power to correct this current injustice.”
Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline said he appreciated Frey’s willingness to discuss the subject. It’s clear that Lewiston did not misuse or misdirect funds, he said.
“At this time, it also appears that the claims of stolen money are baseless,” he said. “Donors had the option to make a decision, and donated accordingly. Our hearts continue to go out to the survivors and the families of the victims. I am grateful that the Maine State Legislature established a victims’ compensation fund that will meet the ongoing medical needs of the survivors.”
This story was originally published by the Maine Trust for Local News. Joe Charpentier can be reached at jcharpentier@sunjournal.com.