AG Ferguson files lawsuit against founder of Vancouver charity for misusing more than $1.2 million meant to serve BIPOC communities

Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced a lawsuit against Vancouver nonprofit Noble Foundation and its founder and executive director, Ophelia Noble, along with foundation directors, and Noble’s family and friends. Ferguson asserts since 2019, Noble misappropriated or failed to account for $1 million in charitable grants the foundation received to serve communities of color in southwest Washington. 

In a lawsuit filed in Clark County Superior Court, Ferguson asserts Noble paid herself hundreds of thousands of dollars from foundation funds, used foundation money to buy vehicles for herself and her mother and directed the foundation to buy her father’s house then resell it to her at a deep discount. The lawsuit names Noble, the Noble Foundation, foundation directors Douglas Noble (Noble’s father), Alice Prejean (Noble’s mother), Alyce Noble, Joann Hampton and Virginia Prioleau. 

Noble’s misconduct includes numerous violations of Washington’s Nonprofit Corporation Act, with potential penalties of up to $5,000 per violation. Ferguson will ask the court to order Noble and her co-defendants to return the diverted money so that it can be directed to an organization that can use it for its intended charitable purposes, dissolve the foundation and bar Noble and her other co-defendants from serving on the boards of any Washington nonprofit in the future. 

“Preying on the generosity of Washingtonians is shameful — and unlawful,” Ferguson said. “We will hold those responsible accountable and work to ensure the diverted money is paid back and directed towards its intended purpose: advancing racial equity and serving communities of color.”

Noble Foundation was founded to serve BIPOC communities

Ophelia Noble started The Noble Foundation in 2012 to serve communities of color in Vancouver, Kelso and Longview. 

In 2019, the foundation expanded rapidly, securing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Washington State Office of Financial Management as part of a state effort to encourage members of undercounted Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities to register for the 2020 Census.

The foundation continued to grow when the pandemic hit. Operating as Our Place/Nuestra Casa Multicultural Center, the foundation provided emergency rent assistance, cash assistance for general household needs, and community education about the dangers of COVID-19 and the importance of vaccinations. It subsequently secured major contracts with counties and the state to facilitate the Treasury Rent Assistance Program and Eviction Rent Assistance Program, disbursing more than $1.3 million on behalf of Clark County and the Washington State Department of Commerce between 2021 and 2023.

As public attention focused more sharply on racial justice and policing issues, the foundation created Southwest Washington Communities United for Change, a tax-exempt social welfare organization. Southwest purportedly focused on organizing protests and trying to increase participation and political representation for BIPOC communities in Clark and Cowlitz counties. Southwest brought in several hundred thousand dollars from grantors interested in establishing a BIPOC-led political organization serving Southwest Washington.

It appears that most of the public dollars received by the foundation and its related entities were spent properly and not misappropriated. However, large grants from private and community foundations, were not subject to the same level of fiscal controls. The nonprofits raised approximately $1.5 million from such foundations including the Northwest Health Foundation, Social Justice Fund Northwest, the Satterberg Foundation, the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington, Group Health/Inatai Foundation and the Seattle Foundation. 

Misappropriations go back years

Beginning in 2019, Noble used her position as executive director to misappropriate large sums of donated charitable funds from the foundation’s accounts. 

The Attorney General’s investigation revealed that Noble and her family received direct, documented payments or benefits of nearly $1 million. Some examples:

  • In July 2021, Noble caused the foundation and Southwest to pay her $355,000 in “back pay,” for “contract services” purportedly provided between 2015 and 2021. There is no evidence that any contracts existed, any money was owed, or that these payments were approved by the entities’ boards.
  • The foundation paid Noble’s consulting company $310,000 for unspecified “executive director services” that were never approved by the board.
  • $200,000 was either withdrawn from the various foundation entities’ bank accounts without explanation or issued to unknown individuals in the form of cashier’s checks. Only Noble and the directors were authorized signers on these accounts.
  • In 2020, Noble directed the foundation to purchase her father’s house for approximately $200,000, but she put her name on the deed as well as the foundation’s. The following year, she paid the foundation $100,000 for its interest in the home. When the foundation transferred title to Noble in 2022, the house was worth at least $324,000, meaning Noble gained $224,000 in equity. There is no evidence the foundation’s board reviewed and approved these transactions, which were clearly a conflict of interest for Noble. 
  • In 2020, Noble used foundation money to purchase a 2019 Nissan Armada, which she used as her personal vehicle. She used foundation funds to make upgrades to the vehicle and cover maintenance and gas. The foundation also purchased a second vehicle, which Noble later transferred to her mother.
  • Noble, her family, and other directors used foundation money to fund over $65,000 in additional purchases that lack a clear connection to the entities’ charitable purposes, including for gift cards, meals, groceries, gas, travel, cell phones, personal clothing, and even alcohol and cigarettes.

Other charity lawsuits

The Legislature identified the Attorney General’s Office as the agency tasked with enforcing the Nonprofit Corporation, Charitable Solicitations and Charitable Trust Acts. These laws ensure that nonprofits and entities that solicit charitable donations or manage charitable assets follow the laws adopted by the Legislature. These laws ensure that funds intended for charity are not misused.

The Attorney General’s Office has three attorneys who specifically focus on charity cases involving the misuse or misappropriation of funds solicited for a charitable purpose.

Recent enforcement actions include:

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Wood County Prosecuting Attorney Paul Dobson announced today that a Wood County Jury convicted Linda Greene, former CEO of the international charity organization Impact with Hope, on charges of Tampering with Records, Prohibited Acts Involving Charities, Solicitation Fraud, and Aggravated Theft

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Wood County Prosecuting Attorney Paul Dobson announced today that a Wood County Jury convicted Linda Greene, former CEO of the international charity organization Impact with Hope, on charges of Tampering with Records, Prohibited Acts Involving Charities, Solicitation Fraud, and Aggravated Theft. The Tampering and Theft charges are felonies of the third degree, subjecting Greene to potential three years in prison each.  The Solicitation Fraud charge is a second degree felony, exposing her to eight years in prison.  The Prohibited Acts charge is a misdemeanor of the first degree, carrying a six-month jail sentence.

Greene was the founder and CEO of Impact with Hope, formerly ISOH/Impact, which generated large sums of money for international relief as well as the hosting of international children requiring medical attention which they could not receive in their home countries.  The charity maintained “The Lighthouse,” a property in Perrysburg on the Maumee River where Greene lived.  Occasionally, she would host these children at her home.  Greene used charity funds for much of her living expenses, paying for clothing, food, manicures, hair styling, etc. with charity funds.  Greene maintained the property through the same funds, including a pool, pond, meditation garden, and other luxuries.  Investigators testified that Greene paid her personal credit card bills with charity funds and even reimbursed herself for purchases made with the charity’s credit card, causing the charity to pay for the items twice.  The trial testimony demonstrated that Greene took funds which had been donated for specific purposes, such as for the children and for a prospective project called “The Hope Center” and used them for her own purposes.  In total, investigators testified to over $400,000 in funds that Greene had misappropriated.

During the pendency of the case, Greene had been ordered by the court to disassociate herself from the charity.   She had repeatedly been brought back before the court for violations of that order, as she continued to run the charity and solicit funds and services on its behalf.  Ultimately, Greene was jailed by the court on a cash bond for her failure to follow the court orders.  She was also ultimately ordered to vacate The Lighthouse.

In announcing the conviction, Dobson said, “I am extremely proud of the time, effort, and dedication which has been shown by the prosecutors and investigators who have worked so diligently for so long on this case.  I would like to particularly recognize this office’s former Senior Investigator Doug Kinder, former Ohio Attorney General’s Office Senior Charitable Funds Auditor Ashley Clifton, and Ohio Attorney General’s Office Charitable Section Major Case Investigator Conika Brooks for their hours, days, and weeks of pouring through financial documents.  I would also like to recognize former Assistant Prosecutor David Romaker who started the case and Chief Assistant Prosecutor Pamela Gross and Senior Assistant Prosecutor Dexter Phillips who put the case before the jury and brought it to a successful conclusion.  Finally, I want to thank the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Narcotics Intelligence Center for allowing their investigators to take the time necessary to finish their investigation and prepare for their testimony.

“This office has always worked hard to bring to justice those who would diminish the good work of charities everywhere by converting the funds trustingly put in their hands by good-hearted citizens to their own gain.  To use the money of hard-working people to live in the lap of luxury for free and to take even more is indefensible.”

In addition to Prosecutor Dobson, Attorney General Dave Yost commented “This case is the perfect example of why oversight for the charitable sector is imperative, as a passive board and poor internal controls can be a disaster for a charity,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said. “We’re proud to partner with the Wood County Prosecutor’s Office and the Ohio Department of Public Safety to bring justice and stop this woman from lining her own pockets.”

Sentencing has been set for October 12 at 9:00 am before Wood County Common Pleas Judge Joel Kuhlman.  In the meantime, Greene remains free on bond.  The orders for her to have no contact with the charity remain in force.

AG Yost Makes East Palestine Food Bank Whole After Settlement With Founder of Phony Charity

After finding previously unreported funds, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost today announced settlements with one of the phony charity’s founders and its fundraiser that will direct all of the money raised on behalf of Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley to the organization, as intended.

“I have said from the beginning that we will continue to fight for the people of East Palestine, which is exactly what we did here,” Yost said. “Our Charitable Law Section was able to recover and return every cent intended to aid the community.

“These scammers preyed on generous donors to try to line their own pockets, but ultimately were stopped and shut down.”

Yost’s office began investigating the Ohio Clean Water Fund (OCWF), founder Michael Peppel and the organization’s fundraiser after a complaint from Second Harvest officials, who said they had never given OCWF permission to raise money in the food bank’s name.

The investigation found that the phony charity had been soliciting monetary donations for bottled water for East Palestine residents via text messages following the Feb. 3 train derailment and that it had collected more than $141,000 from donors nationwide.

Only after the food bank complained did Peppel agree to pay $10,000 to the food bank, a fraction of what had been collected.

Attorney General Yost sued OCWF in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court and on June 1 announced a settlement with the “charity” and one of its board members, Patrick Lee. That settlement required OCWF to dissolve and to pay $116,904.88 in restitution to the food bank and a $15,000 civil penalty.

Since that settlement, a court-mandated review of OCWF’s bank records, invoices, payment records and other financial documents showed that the phony charity and its fundraiser had actually raised nearly $149,000 – and that OCWF used WAMA Strategies as its main fundraiser.

Under today’s settlement with Peppel and WAMA:

  • Peppel must pay a $25,000 civil penalty and is permanently banned from incorporating, operating or soliciting for any charity in Ohio.
  • WAMA and its owners, Isaiah Wartman and Luke Mahoney, must pay $22,077.48 in restitution to Second Harvest, allowing the attorney general to distribute to the food bank 100% of the donations raised in its name.
  • WAMA and its owners must also pay $3,000 in investigative costs and fees to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
  • WAMA is prohibited for four years from soliciting for a charity in Ohio, and Mahoney is prohibited for four years from incorporating, operating or soliciting for a charity in Ohio.

“This settlement means the cost incurred by the state to investigate and prosecute does not come out of the food bank’s pockets,” Yost said. “That’s precisely the outcome we were looking for.”

“Our thanks to Attorney General Yost for the quick response in fighting for the community of East Palestine to recover contributions that were solicited improperly,” said Michael Iberis, Executive Director of Second Harvest Food Bank. “Second Harvest will be announcing soon how the funds will be used to assist residents.”

ATTORNEY GENERAL LOPEZ CAUTIONS THOSE SEEKING TO DONATE TOVICTIMS OF THE MAUI WILDFIRES TO AVOID SCAMS

As Hawai‘i residents start to organize resources and solicit donations to
help the victims of wildfires devastating West Maui, Attorney General Anne Lopez is
alerting residents to use caution when choosing where to send their money and
donations.
“I know that the people of Hawaiʻi will come to the aid of our families, neighbors and
communities,” says Attorney General Lopez. “We are already seeing various fundraising
efforts being promoted on social media platforms and online. In moments of crisis, we
all must be extra vigilant against bad actors who try to take advantage of people’s
goodwill.”


Before making a donation, all donors are urged to keep following tips in mind:

  • If you donate, donate to trusted, well-known charities. Beware of scammers
    who create fake charities during natural disasters. Always verify a charity’s
    legitimacy through its official website. If someone is fundraising on behalf of a
    charity you are familiar with, the best practice is to donate directly to that charity.
  • Verify that the charity is legitimate. Any charity that solicits donation in Hawaiʻi
    must be registered with the Department of the Attorney General, and its status
    can be verified here. There are also a number of independent online sources you
    can use to verify that a charity is legitimate, including the following:
    o IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search: https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/
    o Charity Navigator: https://www.charitynavigator.org/
    o DCCA Business Search: https://hbe.ehawaii.gov/documents/search.html
  • Stay away from suspicious donation requests and be mindful of the following
    scammer’s tactics:
    o Rushing you into making a donation. Don’t let anyone rush you into
    making a donation. Take your time to do your research.
    o Asking you to make a donation using cash or gift card. Most legitimate
    charities will accept credit card and check donations.
    o Using names that sound a lot like the names of real charities. This is one
    reason it pays to do some research before giving.
    o Scammers make lots of vague and sentimental claims but give no
    specifics about how your donation will be used.
    Charity Scam Resources and Complaints

  • For more information about charity scams and tips to avoid such scams, potential
    donors are encouraged to review the Department of the Attorney General’s donor
    education flyer (available here). Donors with any questions or complaints about a scam
    charity can contact the Tax & Charities Division at (808) 586-1480 or by sending an
    email to ATG.Charities@hawaii.gov.

Time To Register

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2023 NAAG/NASCO Annual
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Oct. 11-12, 2023
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This 2023 NAAG/NASCO Charities Conference is the only annual event at which charity regulators, nonprofit organizations, their attorneys, accountants, fundraisers, and advisers can meet, learn about and discuss issues of interest to the charitable sector. Topics include:Governance “on screen” Purpose driven board leadership Conflicts between nonprofits and their board of directorsState of the nonprofit sectorRegulatory priorities and recent enforcement actions
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