Recently I learned of a charitable scam that had been operating in my local area (as well as other parts of the U.S.) – National Foundation of America (NFOA). In recognition of its work, we’ve awarded NFOA our not-so-coveted Charity Skunk Award.
NFOA and several related individuals are now the subject of desist and refrain orders issued by the California Department of Corporations. The orders are available online.
The orders reveal that NFOA, among other things,
- Held itself out as a charitable, humanitarian and philanthropic organization — when it was not.
- Offered to individuals “tax-deductible charitable strategies” — which were neither tax-deductible nor charitable.
- Targeted elderly and unsophisticated investors, and collected more than $3 million from its targets.
- Failed to register with the California Registry of Charitable Trusts, even though it did business in California as a charity.