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PENNSYLVANIA: Department of State Takes Action Against Charitable Organizations

Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of State recently ordered four charitable organizations to cease fundraising until they are in compliance with the commonwealth’s law governing charities, Acting Secretary of State Robert Torres announced today.

In March, cease-and-desist orders were issued to the following organizations:

– Voice 4 The Fallen, 34 North Kennedy Street, McAdoo, PA 18237

– National Character Education Foundation, 120 East Beaver Street, Zelienople, PA　16063

– The Angeletti Group, LLC, 17 Village Road, New Vernon, NJ 07976

– H. Freeman Associates, LLC, 2204 Salisibury Road, South Richmond, IN 47374

Acting Secretary Torres noted that those organizations may not solicit donations or conduct fundraising activities until they have come into compliance with the Solicitation of Funds for Charitable Purposes Act.
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The Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations maintains a comprehensive list of charitable organizations, professional solicitors and professional fundraising counsel that have been subject to sanctions or corrective measures. This list contains the most up-to-date information on any specific disciplinary action.
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Each entry includes the name of the charitable organization, professional solicitor or professional fundraising counsel, address, sanction imposed, a description of the basis for the disciplinary or corrective measure and the effective date.
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Anyone who suspects unethical activity by a charitable organization can contact the Bureau’s Division of Charities Investigations/Audits by emailing RA-STBEICIU@pa.gov or by calling (717) 787-0700.
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The Bureau oversees the registration of more than 12,000 charitable organizations, professional solicitors and professional fundraising counsel. A list of registration exclusions and exemptions for charitable organizations can be found on the Department’s website.
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Violations of the Solicitation of Funds for Charitable Purposes Act may result in disciplinary actions including civil penalties and the suspension or revocation of a registration.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Wanda Murren, 717-783-1621
Press release HERE.
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OREGON: Attorney General Rosenblum Announces Settlement with Race Director of the Portland Marathon

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum announced today that the Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Portland Marathon have reached an $865,000 settlement with Lester Smith, former board member and Race Director of the Portland Marathon.

The settlement requires Mr. Smith to pay the Portland Marathon $865,000, of which $50,000 will be paid to DOJ to reimburse for investigative costs. Under the settlement Mr. Smith is prohibited from serving as a director, officer, or fiduciary of any charitable organization, and requires him to dissolve his for-profit company Next Events, LLC. In addition, he is not able to operate, or be involved with, any foot races in the future, and he is prohibited from seeking reinstatement with the Oregon State Bar.

“Our Charities Section supervises and regulates over 21,000 registered charities in Oregon; this means we have an obligation to make sure each one is run with integrity and in accordance with Oregon charities laws,” said AG Rosenblum. “I am pleased that we were able to work with the new board of the Marathon to evaluate the organization’s financial situation and ultimately assist in recovering substantial funds owed to the Marathon by Lester Smith.”

The Oregon DOJ investigation found that Mr. Smith operated the Marathon for many years without meaningful board oversight. Records revealed that over the years Mr. Smith, or his related companies, received hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans from the Marathon—a practice that is illegal.

“The Portland Marathon is a capstone event in Oregon, and I am hopeful that this settlement will enable more successful events in the future,” said Attorney General Rosenblum.

The Oregon Department of Justice’s Charitable Activities Section supervises and regulates the activities of more than 21,000 charitable organizations in the state. To review financial information of all registered charities in Oregon, visit our database.

Press release here.

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NASCO, GuideStar, Multistate Registration and Filing Portal, and CityBase Creating Single System for State Charity Registration and Reporting

Will enable charities and professional fundraisers to comply with fundraising regulations in one place

Washington, DC, and Chicago, IL, April 04, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The National Association of State Charity Officials (NASCO), the Multistate Registration and Filing Portal, Inc. (MRFP), GuideStar, and CityBase have joined forces to simplify compliance with state fundraising regulations.

“Thirty-nine states require charities and professional fundraisers to register before raising money,” explained MRFP president Chris Cash.  MRFP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation formed by NASCO members in 2013 for the purposes of administering and contracting for the development of the single filing portal.  “The registration and reporting requirements vary from state to state. Online fundraising has further complicated this situation. We need to simplify the state registration process through a single national charity registration system. We are excited to be partnering with GuideStar and CityBase to create this.”

“The current registration and reporting process is time-consuming and complicated,” noted Josh Goldstein, VP of product at CityBase, a provider of end-to-end payment solutions, digital services, and API development for local governments and utilities. “Nonprofits spend lots of time each year navigating these state-by-state reporting requirements. The portal will save charities time by capturing this information in one place. We will also ‘auto-fill’ many fields with data that GuideStar has collected from the IRS or from the charities themselves.”

The portal also will increase nonprofit transparency. “We are working with the state charity offices to help them use this registration data in their work,” stated Jacob Harold, president and CEO of GuideStar. GuideStar is the world’s largest source of information on nonprofit organizations and itself a 501(c)(3) public charity. “We will also make much of the registration data, minus private information, available for download. Researchers, policy makers, and the public will be able to use this open data to learn more about the sector. We will also incorporate state registration information into GuideStar’s Nonprofit Profiles. We are proud to help charities devote more time to their missions while ensuring compliance with state requirements.”

CityBase and GuideStar will launch an initial prototype with registrations for a few states this summer. They will work with NASCO to add more states prior to a full launch later in 2018. Additional states will be added over time to eventually create what proponents hope will be a 39-state solution.

About NASCO and MRFP

The National Association of State Charity Officials (NASCO), www.NASCOnet.org, is an association of all state offices charged with oversight of charitable organizations and charitable solicitation in the United States. NASCO provides a forum by which the states can communicate and collaborate on issues of common interest regarding charity oversight and enforcement. NASCO officials established MRFP to provide governance for development and operation of an online system that will allow nonprofit organizations and their professional fundraisers to comply with all states’ registration and annual filing requirements through a single online portal.  Members of MRFP are state agencies (attorneys general, secretaries of state, or other agencies) participating in the multistate registration portal.

About GuideStar

GuideStar, http://www.guidestar.org, is the world’s largest source of nonprofit information, connecting people and organizations with data on 2.7 million current and formerly IRS-recognized nonprofits. Each year, more than 9 million people, including individual donors, nonprofit leaders, grantmakers, government officials, academic researchers, and the media, use GuideStar data to make intelligent decisions about the social sector. GuideStar Nonprofit Profiles are populated with information from the IRS, directly from nonprofits, and via other partners in the nonprofit sector. In addition, users see GuideStar data on more than 200 philanthropic websites and applications. GuideStar is itself a 501(c)(3) public charity.

About CityBase
CityBase gives people and businesses an intuitive way to interact with utilities and government agencies. CityBase’s technology dramatically improves constituent services through payment solutions, digital services and API development for cities, states and utilities. For more information please visit http://www.thecitybase.com/.

Press release available here.

Jackie Enterline Fekeci
GuideStar
202-637-7606
jackie.enterline@guidestar.org

Chris Cash
MRFP, Inc.
303-860-6906
chris.cash@sos.state.co.us
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USDOJ: Justice Department Sues to Stop Attorney From Promoting Nationwide Charitable Giving Tax Scheme

The United States filed a civil complaint seeking to permanently bar Michael L. Meyer, of Southwest Ranches, Florida, from providing federal tax advice for compensation because Meyer allegedly promotes, organizes, and executes a national charitable giving tax scheme that has cost the United States Treasury more than $35 million.  The complaint alleges that Meyer executes his scheme through three bogus charities that he controls.  The United States also seeks to disgorge the fees that Meyer received from the scheme.

 

According to the complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Meyer, an attorney licensed in Kentucky and Indiana, advises scheme participants to claim unwarranted charitable deductions for purported contributions to one of three bogus charities that Meyer controls.  The complaint alleges that the purported donations are made on paper only and the participants never actually surrender dominion or control of the donated property to the charities. Some of the purported contributions allegedly consist solely of backdated promissory notes created by Meyer as well as fabricated intellectual property.  The complaint alleges that Meyer prepares baseless appraisals and false federal tax forms to facilitate the scheme.

 

Meyer allegedly markets his charitable giving tax scheme nationwide through financial planners and CPAs, and he executes every material aspect of the scheme.  The complaint alleges that Meyer sells his scheme by making demonstrably false statements about his experience and credentials, including falsely claiming that he is a licensed Certified Public Accountant and Certified Valuation Analyst, and by making false statements about the legality of his tax scheme.

 

Return preparer fraud, abusive tax shelters, and transactions involving fake charities are three of the IRS’s Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2018, and taxpayers seeking a tax return preparer or a tax adviser should remain vigilant.  Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website.  An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page.  If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details(link sends e-mail)

 

Press release here.

Complaint here.

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MARYLAND: Attorney General Frosh, Secretary of State Wobensmith Announce Settlement in Look-A-Like Cancer Charity Scheme

BALTIMORE, MD (March 9, 2018) – Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh and Secretary of State John C. Wobensmith today announced a settlement agreement reached with a look-a-like cancer charity (Cancer Society of America, Inc., dba USA Cancer Foundation, Inc.) based in Maryland that unlawfully used a name similar to the American Cancer Society to collect donations from unsuspecting donors.

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