An alumnus from the College of Osteopathic Medicine, Khan also raps professionally under the name Lazarus.

Although Khan was interested in the performance, he had reservations about the legitimacy of the organization, he said.

Dominick Reuven Enriquez, an employee of the organization as listed on the website, contacted him via Facebook to rap at the show, Khan said.

It was Enriquez’s promises of fame that left Khan with questions.

“The message he was presenting to me was positive, and I was with it,” Khan said. “What I didn’t like too much was his attitude and the condescending nature of the way he was speaking to me.”

Within weeks, he was uninvited to perform at the concert. Khan said he was told his Pakistani background could be too controversial.

“I tried to tell him wasn’t the whole point of us doing this to show the unity of everybody in America?” Khan said.

Enriquez and other organizers of the 911 Benefit Concert did not return multiple phone calls for comment from The State News.

Khan said he could not reach Enriquez again to further discuss the concert.

According to its website, the H.O.P.E. International Gift Fund is a registered nonprofit agency.

The organization is not listed as a nonprofit on the Internal Revenue Service’s website.

Some smaller nonprofit agencies do not know the correct way to register with the IRS and spend years working as a for-profit agency by mistake, said Nicole Dandridge, director of the MSU Small Business and Nonprofit Clinic.

If the H.O.P.E. International Gift Fund filed for nonprofit status recently, its application might still be processing, Dandridge said.

Intentional misrepresentations by agencies could be considered fraud and could be prosecuted in court, said Michele Halloran, clinical professor of law and director of the MSU Clinical Programs and Tax Clinic.

The exact venue and address of the show was not listed online.

Khan said Enriquez mentioned to him the concert would be held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The venue was closed that weekend, and no events were held there, the public relations manager for the speedway said.

Frank Bi, a student journalist at the University of Minnesota, also has been researching the 911 Benefit Concert. Reviewing the website, Bi was suspicious of the organization’s legitimacy, he said.

“Right away, lights went on in my head,” Bi said. “It was really poorly put together (with) a lot of bad information and grammar errors.”

After Sept. 11, 911benefitconcert.com read, “This website is currently suspended for billing reasons.” The domain owner, Lewis Taylor, did not return multiple calls from The State News.

This is a developing story. Keep checking The State News for further details.