Attorney General Dave Yost announced Thursday that the money raised for the Second Harvest Food Bank by a phony charity will be returned to the food bank, according to a news release from Yost.
An investigation began on the Ohio Clean Water Fund’s founder after they were raising money in the Second Harvest Food Bank’s name without permission. It was found that this charity was soliciting monetary donations for bottled water for East Palestine residents.
“These scammers preyed on generous donors to try to line their own pockets, but ultimately were stopped and shut down,” Yost said in a statement.
The charity collected more than $141,000 from donors across the nation, and once the food bank complained about the usage of its name, the charity’s founder offered the food bank $10,000.
On June 1, Yost announced a settlement that would require the Ohio Clean Water Fund’s founder to pay $116,904.88 in restitution to the food bank and a $15,000 civil penalty. This came after Yost sued the charity in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court.
Upon review of the Ohio Clean Water Fund’s financial documents, the court found that the charity raised nearly $149,000 and used WAMA Strategies as its main fundraiser.
Today’s settlement now reads that the founder of the Ohio Clean Water Fund must pay a $25,000 civil penalty and is permanently banned from incorporating, operating or soliciting for any charity in Ohio.
Additionally, the owners of WAMA Strategies must pay $22,077.48 in restitution to Second Harvest, $3,000 in investigative costs and fees to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and are prohibited for four years from soliciting for a charity in Ohio.
“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 in a statement. “Our Charitable Law Section was able to recover and return every cent intended to aid the community.”
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