One of the duties of Attorneys General is to represent the public’s interest in the protection of assets held for charitable purposes. In most states, that duty is part of the common law powers of the office, which may be supplemented by statutes that codify and expand on the common law. In other states the power to oversee charitable organizations and their assets is purely statutory. Regardless of the source of authority, when charitable assets are abused it is the Attorney General that generally has the authority and responsibility to rectify the situation. Some state Attorney General offices have active, staffed charity enforcement programs to respond to allegations of charity fraud or abuse. Many states, however, do not have the resources, experience, or a well-developed body of law that would enable the Attorney General to respond swiftly and with confidence when suspected charitable abuse comes to light.
The Charities Law Project of the State Attorneys General Program at Columbia Law School has recently been created to provide a resource to Attorneys General in fulfilling their charities enforcement responsibilities. The Project is a resource to Attorneys General in three ways. First, Attorneys General who find themselves in need of external advice or direction on a charities issue can receive it from the experienced Project staff. To obtain more information about this resource, telephone our office at (212) 851-1061. Second, a clearinghouse for information relating to the law of charities is being created. The clearinghouse will contain articles and papers on charities law generally, as well as Attorneys General enforcement activities and best practices. Third, the Project will convene forums at which Attorneys General and their staffs will hear about and discuss what other offices have done and are doing to protect their citizens and their states’ charitable assets. In March of 2008, the Project hosted a Charities Conference to continue the discussion initiated at its first conference held in February 2006. To follow-up on issues raised at the Conference, the Project will host mini-conferences on specific issues related to Charities Law and the Attorney General.
The National Attorneys General Training & Research Institute (NAGTRI) and the Charities Project of the National State Attorneys General Program at Columbia Law School will be co-hosting a conference on February 18th & 19th, 2010:“Charities Regulation Conference: Anatomy of an Investigation.” Topics will include identifying remedies and violations of law, gathering documents, identifying witnesses, conducting investigatory depositions and deciding whether to sue or settle. Issues surrounding ethics of investigations and transparency considerations also will be addressed.
Please contact Rachel Teitelbaum at rteite@law.columbia.edu for any questions.
FTC Announces "Operation False Charity"
On May 20, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced “Operation False Charity,” a nation-wide initiative of state and federal law enforcement agencies that included the commencement of legal actions and educational outreach programs for the public and charitable organizations. The FTC, Attorneys General of forty-five states and the District of Columbia and other state agencies from sixteen states participated in the project. As part of the project, those agencies commenced a total of 76 law enforcement actions. The focus of the Operation False Charity was to remedy fraudulent telemarketing practices by organizations and fund raisers that solicit contributions on behalf of police, firefighters and veterans. A full description of Operation False Charity and information concerning the actions and programs of the the FTC and the participating state agencies are posted on the FTC’s web site at http://www2.ftc.gov/opa/2009/05/charityfraud.shtm
Over the past six months, the Charities Project organized a series of Regional Meetings on Charities Law Enforcement in three different cities: Raleigh, North Carolina, Seattle, Washington and Austin, Texas. In total, representatives from 26 different states participated in one of these meetings. Full agendas and materials can be found here.
The National State Attorneys General Program, together with the National Attorneys General Training and Research Institute (NAGTRI), hosted a conference at Columbia Law School on January 22-24, 2009 for state officials and members of the nonprofit and charitable sector regarding the detection and prevention of charities fraud. For more details as well as background reading materials for attendees, go to the conference home page. Further materials for state officials are available at NASCOnet.
