# Nine Eleven Finding Answers Foundation

The Nine Eleven Finding Answers Foundation (NEFA Foundation) was a tax exempt, 501(c)(3) organization, nonprofit, charitable organization engaged in terrorism research and analysis. Although NEFA lists a New York address for its headquarters on its website, the organization's business offices are located in Charleston, South Carolina, according to the latter's Secretary of State.

## Background and goal

The Foundation was founded after the September 11 attacks. Its stated goal is "to help prevent future tragedies in the U.S. and abroad by exposing those responsible for planning, funding, and executing terrorist activities, with a particular emphasis on Islamic militant organizations." It has worked with the 9/11 victims' families, and is funded by private donations.

## Activities

The Foundation conducts research into terrorist activities. It funds extensive field research, and obtains relevant original documents (translated when necessary) and videos. Media such as UPI, ABC, and Fox News have, in turn, used the documents, video, and translations provided by NEFA.
In the 2006 Ontario terrorism plot, NEFA posted on its website a video of the accused which got it from a British court that watched it during the trial of a man who has now been convicted of terrorism; Dan Brien of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada said, "We were interested to learn of the existence of this video, which we'd never seen before. We would've preferred to learn about it in some manner other than a U.S. website." NEFA also carries interviews with Taliban commanders on its website. It was reported in November 2008 that NEFA was concerned about what it termed "a disturbing pattern of lone-wolf style individuals".

## Staff

Michelle T. Hayes is its President and CEO, David Draper is its Director of Strategic Operations, Ronald Sandee (a former Dutch military intelligence officer) is Director of Analysis and Research, Evan F. Kohlmann, is its Senior Investigator.

### Founders

NEFA was founded by former US Congresswoman Susan Molinari (R-NY) in 2002 as an effort to monitor suspected terrorists' financial activity. The nonprofit was granted unfettered access to online financial activities and transactions of sudpects without regard to validity or reason. Molinari, in 2005, decided to close the nonprofit, but instead transferred ownership to Sarah L. King, who was the director of Public Relations for the Medical University of South Carolina, becoming the CEO in 2006. King then recruited Michele "Mikey" T. Hayes, an unemployed MUSC administrative worker to operate as NEFAF's COO, until 2010 when she named CEO while King remained associated and able to surveillance finances of anyone, despite any terrorist association, including estranged spouses in custody and divorce actions, political and professional data mining, and, where indicated, what became unauthorized use in alleged defamation campaigns that involved the South Carolina former governor and congressman, Mark Sanford. The organization would be rebuked by the state's secretary of state and soon after NEFA became officially inactive.
President and Treasurer Michelle T. "Mikie" Hayes and Director of Strategic Operations David Draper. Hayes previously worked as a development officer at the Medical University of South Carolina's Cardiovascular Institute.
Hayes previously worked as the director of development for the Charleston, South Carolina-based Medical University of South Carolina's Cardiovascular Institute.
Draper previously worked as a contractor for the Charleston, South Carolina-based law firm Motley Rice. Draper is the owner of a Charleston, South Carolina-based company named D2.