The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has joined with state and territorial law enforcement and agencies that regulate charities in an effort to stop bogus enterprises from targeting donors who want to help veterans.
With the Operation Donate with Honor effort, the FTC and National Association of State Charity Officials (NASCO) will reach out to donors with information about legitimate charitable organizations, as well as those that do not deliver any assistance to veterans despite their promises.
“Some con artists prey on … gratitude [towards veterans], using lies and deception to line their own pockets,” said FTC Chairman Joe Simons. “In the process, they harm not only well-meaning donors, but also the many legitimate charities that actually do great work on behalf of veterans and service members.”
The FTC announcement about Operation Donate with Honor included warnings about two specific organizations that ran into trouble for misrepresenting their actions:
* Veterans of America was charged with making a series of robocalls stating that it was a recognized charity and that tax-deductible donations would be used directly to provide services to veterans in need. The FTC charged the bogus group’s chief executive, Travis Deloy Peterson, with violating agency rules that apply to telemarketing and charitable solicitations. The agency also asked for and received a temporary restraining order that prevents Peterson and Veterans of America from continuing with the phony telemarketing campaign.
* Help the Vets, Inc. (HTV) was cited for falsely claiming donations would help veterans get medical care, suicide-prevention assistance, and other services. The FTC stated that 95 percent of all donations was spent on salary for HTV’s chief executive, Neil G. Paulson Sr., as well as fundraising and administrative expenses. The FTC fined Paulson $1.75 million, plus the $72,000 that remained after HTV was imposed a judgment of $20.4 million — the amount it collected in donations between 2014 and 2017.
* Numerous state governments also took similar actions against false charities that used telemarketing, door-to-door, direct mail and other methods of soliciting donations that would likely never help any veterans.
The FTC is offering assistance to donors and businesses who want to help legitimate veterans’ charities and bring charlatans to justice. More information is available online at FTC.gov/Charity.
