The state Attorney General’s office has reached a preliminary settlement with powerful multi-billion dollar foundation, the Hershey Trust.
The office said an official announcement on the settlement could possibly come this week.
The trust is the largest shareholder in the Hershey Company.
It owns the Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company and manages more than $12 billion in funds for the Milton Hershey School, which serves underprivileged children.
The investigation stemmed from alleged conflicts of interests for board members and overcompensation.
Attorney General spokesman Jeffrey Johnson declined to offer specific information on the results of the investigation, saying only that, “an agreement has been reached in principal, but nothing has been finalized at this point.”
Johnson did acknowledge, however, that this isn’t the first time the Hershey Trust has faced an investigation by the AG’s office.
“One division of our office is tasked with the essential mission of making sure that charitable assets are being used appropriately,” he said. “And we’ve worked with the Hershey Trust in the past, so this is a continuation of those efforts.”
In 2011, for instance, the office examined why the trust spent $17 million on a golf course and clubhouse.
The trust is supposed to only use its money to benefit the students who attend the Milton Hershey School.
