Our reading: the $25 million was never found, it was declared. Elevate told the state it had unusual returns, the state took its word and approved $25 million of them for a private fund that pays Elevate's subsidiaries and, per undisclosed offer letters, Elevate's executives. Four years later the state's auditor found Elevate could not tie a return to an investment, had never delivered the audited fund statements it owed, and owned 55% of the fund it told Washington it had no interest in. Then Elevate could not repay a $17 million loan. The money behind the $25 million is whatever Elevate said it was.

Who read it

joe, from the FTI review and the IEDC default letter as reported.

The innocent reading

Elevate says the review cleared it of illegal activity, and FTI recorded that Elevate reconciled its returns during the review with an outside firm's validation. The Growth Fund has not closed, and the only account of the $25 million moving is a single newsletter citing internal correspondence nobody else has seen. If the transfer never happened, an approved-but-unexecuted plan is not a loss.

What would prove us wrong

• Publish the completed return reconciliation with the outside validation, tying each return to its investment and state tranche.
• Show the $25 million was never transferred out of the 21 Fund, with bank records, and explain the $15,445,645 prior-period adjustment on the 2024 Form 990 as something other than that money.
• Produce audited 21 Fund financial statements for any year the loan agreements required them.