Oregon Attorney General John Kroger has filed a lawsuit alleging that the founder of two charities personally kept at least $690,000 of funds raised to help Oregon veterans and improperly used charitable donations to make unreported political contributions.
“The Department of Justice is committed to cracking down on charities that misuse donations raised to benefit veterans, law enforcement and other worthy causes,” said Keith Dubanevich, Chief of Staff and Special Counsel to Attorney General Kroger. “Oregonians deserve absolute assurances that their generous charitable contributions are spent properly.”
The lawsuit was filed today in Marion County Circuit Court against Gregory Warnock and corporations he founded: the Oregon War Veterans Association (OWVA) and Military Family Support Foundation.
The suit alleges that Warnock falsely claimed that Military Family Support had been granted charitable status by the IRSand that donations to it were tax-deductible. In fact, the suit alleges, Military Family Support was little more than a corporate shell that Warnock used to solicit donations that he transferred to himself or entities under his control.
Warnock also allegedly allowed OWVA to make unreported political contributions and represented that donors could claim a charitable tax deduction for contributions intended to be used for political purposes, which is contrary toOregon’s campaign finance laws, Internal Revenue Service regulations and OWVA’s status as a charitable, public-benefit corporation.
The lawsuit seeks, among other things, an order shutting down OWVA and preventing Warnock from operating charities in the future. Attorney General Kroger also is demanding that Warnock repay amounts he impropertly diverted so the funds can be distributed to charitable organizations that provide assistance to veterans.
The lawsuit is part of Attorney General Kroger’s ongoing initiative to crack down on non-profits and fundraisers that fraudulentlyclaim to help U.S.veterans.
