New York ? ACORN employees caught on video apparently advising a couple posing as a prostitute and her boyfriend to lie about her profession and launder her earnings did not commit a crime, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office said Monday.

The office began its investigation Sept. 15, the day after the video was released online by the conservative activists who posed as an outlaw couple seeking help buying a house. It was but one in a series of such videos filmed at ACORN offices around the country that sparked a national scandal and helped drive the organization to near ruin.

Several of ACORN’s local offices have officially disbanded and resumed operations under new names and with similar staff in an effort to escape the scandal that has surrounded the 40-year-old organization in recent months.

The videos created a political and media firestorm when they were released, adding to problems the organization had faced as it was dogged by allegations of voter-registration fraud and embezzlement. In September, Congress blocked previously approved funds from going to ACORN.