$54M CodePink-linked foundation shut down in California pops up at ramshackle Miami home
Arc of Justice, the California‑based foundation that has long funded progressive groups such as CodePink, remains entangled in a web of regulatory troubles even as a similarly named nonprofit has appeared in Miami.
The foundation, whose assets grew from $51.4 million at the close of 2023 to $54.6 million at the end of 2024, saw its charitable registration revoked by California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office in January 2025 after years of missing annual filings for 2020‑2024. The revocation came after a suspension that had already lasted more than a year. Under the order, Arc of Justice had 30 days to submit an accounting of its holdings and was barred from moving or spending any of those funds without the attorney general’s written approval.
A follow‑up notice issued on June 19, 2026 reiterated the requirement and warned that the foundation could not distribute assets without AG consent, nor could it seek reinstatement without proving that no charitable assets had been lost. As of early September 2026, the state reported that the required accounting had not been received; the foundation’s status remained “REVOKED,” though its reporting label had shifted to “IN REVIEW.”
California law obliges a revoked charity to explain why it failed to meet reporting duties and to respond to the state’s notices before it can regain standing.
The foundation’s attorney, David Levitt, told reporters that Arc of Justice had filed paperwork seeking reinstatement. He also described a new Florida nonprofit bearing the same name that was incorporated on May 8, 2026 at the Little River duplex owned by Tighe Barry, Benjamin’s longtime partner. Levitt characterized the Florida entity as a “placeholder” created while the foundation contemplated moving its operations out of California; he said the move never materialized, the California corporation was never formally dissolved, no assets were transferred, and the Florida group holds no assets and has conducted no business. Levitt supplied documentation showing that the California foundation continues to hold its money in the same accounts it has used for years.
Susan Medea Benjamin, who co‑founded CodePink and serves as Arc of Justice’s president, asserted that the foundation has filed its IRS Form 990‑PF every year. “I’m 100 percent positive. We have filed the 990s every single year,” she said in a telephone interview. She added that she would ensure any missing returns were provided, which she said they subsequently were. Benjamin acknowledged she was less certain about the California compliance issues, noting that she now lives in Florida and that “the lawyer knows more than I do.”
Patrick Sternal, a former IRS official who now advises nonprofits at Holtzman Vogel, described the situation as atypical. “It's unusual for a private foundation with that much in the bank to fall out of compliance and to be suspended,” he said. He noted that while forming a nonprofit in another state is not inherently problematic, questions arise if the new Florida organization is intended to assume the original foundation’s assets—a shift that would trigger additional legal steps and require California’s attorney general’s sign‑off before any funds could be moved.
Laurie Styron, chief executive of the watchdog group CharityWatch, emphasized that a foundation with tens of millions of dollars undoubtedly possesses the means to satisfy basic reporting obligations. “A foundation with tens of millions of dollars in charitable assets certainly has the resources to comply with basic reporting requirements,” she stated. She also warned that determining exactly when the federal returns were actually filed is crucial to evaluating the foundation’s compliance, adding that multi‑year delays would be uncommon.
The Miami property at the center of the Florida incorporation is a 1,334‑square‑foot, single‑story duplex painted turquoise‑blue, partially shielded by palms and tropical plants behind a weathered, multicolored wooden fence. The fence bears faded artwork of cats, pigs, flowers, hearts and peace symbols, including a pink pig holding a “ONE LOVE” sign. A large “PEACE” poster hangs on the house, and a turquoise‑shaded canopy stretches across the yard. Campaign signs for Democrat Kendrick Meek Jr., who unsuccessfully ran in Florida’s 24th Congressional District primary, stand outside. The house number is painted vertically on the front gate, the same address that appears on Arc of Justice’s California filings and on the Florida corporation’s paperwork.
Financially, Arc of Justice’s wealth traces back to Benjamin family contributions. Alvin Benjamin, Susan’s father, transferred a partnership interest valued at $683,715 in 2003. Her mother Rose Benjamin’s estate added $10,863,060 in 2010, followed by a $15 million contribution from Alvin Benjamin’s estate in 2015 and another $8,603,450 in 2019. Investment gains pushed the year‑end assets close to $40 million in 2020, and Susan Benjamin personally donated $1 million in 2022, listing the Miami house as her address.
Over the years the foundation has granted millions to progressive causes. It gave Global Exchange, the Alliance for Global Justice, the National Iranian American Council and CodePink substantial support. Specifically, CodePink received $251,500 in 2020, $355,350 in 2022, $277,580 in 2023 and $350,000 in 2024. Benjamin’s March 2023 trip to Cuba with CodePink co‑founder Jodie Evans and streamer Hasan Piker—part of a roughly 170‑person convoy—prompted a detailed inquiry from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control regarding the trip’s financing and logistics; Benjamin called the request “serious” while also labeling it an intimidation tactic.
The foundation’s financial entanglements extend to Neville Roy Singham, the American tech entrepreneur who sold ThoughtWorks for an estimated $785 million in 2017 and now resides in Singapore‑adjacent Shanghai. Singham has directed at least $278 million into six nonprofits that promote socialist, communist and pro‑China causes; CodePink is among them. A congressional probe into Singham’s network remains active, and he is separately under a federal criminal investigation described by an intelligence expert as a security threat that surpasses a typical nonprofit scandal. Neither Singham nor CodePink has been charged in connection with those inquiries.
While the Florida branch of Arc of Justice exists on paper, officials from the Florida Department of State confirm it is a registered domestic nonprofit, and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services notes it is not authorized to solicit charitable contributions in the state and has not reported any asset transfers from the California entity.
For now, the original California corporation continues to hold its $54.6 million endowment, its compliance status unsettled, and the future of the Miami‑based namesake remains unclear. As Levitt put it, the board is still weighing whether to move the foundation out of California and possibly create two separate charitable vehicles to allow the founder and officers to pursue distinct activities. Until any such steps are taken and approved by California’s authorities, the foundation’s assets remain where they have been, subject to the state’s ongoing oversight.
