Category: Federal/State Actions

Press Release related to a state action against a charity.

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MICHIGAN – Schuette: Food for the Poor Agrees to Pay $300,000 to Settle Allegations of Deceptive Charitable Solicitations

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette today announced his Charitable Trust Section has reached a settlement with Food for the Poor, a large Florida-based charity that solicits nationwide, to settle allegations of deceptive charitable solicitations.

Last December, Schuette alleged that Food for the Poor’s mailings overstated its efficiency when it told donors that “more than 95% of all donations go directly to programs that help the poor.” While denying that its solicitations were deceptive, Food for the Poor has agreed to cease this and other allegedly deceptive language as well as pay $300,000. Of the settlement amount, $175,000 will go to the Food Bank Council of Michigan and $75,000 to the Capuchin Soup Kitchen; both charities distribute food to hungry Michigan families. The remaining $50,000 of the settlement will reimburse the State of Michigan for investigative costs.

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MARYLAND – Sham Law Enforcement Fundraiser Ordered to Stop Soliciting Donations

Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh and Secretary of State John C. Wobensmith announce a Cease and Desist Order has been issued today against Stephen D. Everhart, Lion Fundraising, Police Journal and Fire Yearbook, and Lion Fraternal Order of Police Assistance Fund LLC. The order follows an investigation that revealed over $1 million in donations were solicited and received by Mr. Everhart since 2012 in violation of the Maryland Solicitations Act. Mr. Everhart posed as fake law enforcement charities to collect donations, and failed to register with the Secretary of State as either a charity or fundraiser before soliciting and collecting donations using a cash on delivery service.

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MICHIGAN – Schuette Alleges Maryland Charity is Defrauding the Public in Nationwide Sweepstakes Fundraising Scheme

LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette today announced a Notice of Intended Action and Cease and Desist Order against National Emergency Medicine Association of Edgewood, Maryland for over 600,000 violations of the Charitable Organizations and Solicitations Act. Violations included operating a fundraising scheme to defraud the public and diverting funds raised to other purposes. Over 30,000 donations – totaling nearly $200,000 – were received from Michigan donors.

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Fox News: FTC, states, target bogus veterans’ charities in new crackdown: ‘It’s war profiteering’

By | Fox News

Generous Americans give more than $2.5 billion a year to some 40,000 charities with missions designed to help veterans. Lately, however, this crowded field has been inundated by fraud, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC launched Operation Donate with Honor in July to spotlight the problem of fraudulent and deceptive fundraising on behalf of military and veterans’ causes. Continue reading “Fox News: FTC, states, target bogus veterans’ charities in new crackdown: ‘It’s war profiteering’”

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OKLAHOMA – AG Hunter, Tulsa VFW Commander & AARP Announce 20 Count Felony Indictment on Tulsa Man for Charity Fraud Involving a Veterans Organization

TULSA – Attorney General Mike Hunter was joined today by Tulsa VFW Commander Joshua Starks and AARP’s Wayne Blackmon to announce a 20-count felony indictment on a Tulsa man for his role in a charity fraud case that has defrauded around 600 individuals in Oklahoma.

An investigation has found Jeff McDougal is alleged to have solicited charitable contributions on behalf of American Oklahoma Veterans of Green Country for the purpose of assisting veterans, through his for-profit fundraising business, Cornerstone Oklahoma. Continue reading “OKLAHOMA – AG Hunter, Tulsa VFW Commander & AARP Announce 20 Count Felony Indictment on Tulsa Man for Charity Fraud Involving a Veterans Organization”