Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s Charitable Law Section investigates charitable fraud and pursues enforcement action to help recover misused charitable funds, stop fraudulent activity, and protect donors and charities.
Recent enforcement actions include:
- Gem City Rottie Rescue and its board president Karen Stephens were ordered to turn over proceeds, pay civil penalties, and stop soliciting for charitable purposes in Ohio, according to a default judgment granted in August in the Franklin County Common Pleas Court. The Attorney General filed a lawsuit in May 2016 after the organization failed to register according to Ohio law despite multiple attempts by the Attorney General’s Office to bring it into compliance.
- Cakes by Brian Foundation and its operator Brian Foley agreed to dissolve the organization according to a June 2016 Assurance of Discontinuance. Investigators determined that Foley failed to keep proper records and failed to prove that all donations were used for the solicited purposes. Foley had solicited donations on Facebook and in public places, allegedly using the names or images of a child or a charity without permission. Under the assurance, Foley agreed not to hold a position with a charitable organization in Ohio for five years and to pay $1,500 to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
- Brian D. McElroy entered into an Assurance of Discontinuance, agreeing not to incorporate a nonprofit in Ohio and not to work as an officer, trustee, or employee of a charity in Ohio. McElroy was the former president of Elgin Youth Football, a youth sports organization that has since been reorganized. An investigation determined that McElroy used charitable funds for personal expenses, and he pleaded guilty to theft in 2014. The Assurance of Discontinuance includes injunctive relief that bars McElroy from holding positions with charities in Ohio.
- KWH Promotions Inc., a professional solicitor based in Elkhart, Indiana, agreed not to solicit for any charitable purpose in Ohio according to a May 2016 Assurance of Discontinuance. The assurance resolved allegations that KWH had solicited in Ohio without first filing the appropriate notice with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. KWH denied any wrongdoing but agreed to settle through the assurance.
Charitable enforcement actions can help redirect misused funds to their original purpose. For example, in early August Attorney General DeWine announced that his office had awarded a $50,000 grant to the Ohio Military Veterans Legal Assistance Project (OMVLAP), which arranges legal services for low-income Ohio military veterans and active service members who cannot afford an attorney.
The grant funding was awarded in part from funds seized from the former veterans’ charity scam artist known as Bobby Thompson, or John Donald Cody, who ran a scam charity called the U.S. Navy Veterans Association. Cody solicited funds nationwide but pocketed as much as $2 million in proceeds. A fugitive of the law, he was arrested in 2012 in Portland, Ore. He was convicted in 2013 on 23 charges and sentenced to 28 years in prison. Money seized during Thompson’s arrest was awarded to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office for distribution to legitimate veterans charities.
Questionable charitable activity can be reported to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office at www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov or 800-282-0515.
More information available here.