fraud-in-the-crosshairs
I have seen so much while being involved in the nonprofit sector. This week I am doing my part. You should do yours as well. The economy is still in decline contrary to what we are being fed in the media. Be alert, be vigilant, and report. Nonprofits are hurting. Some are taking illegal shortcuts.
I actually worked in tandem with a nonprofit that sadly pulled the wool over many eyes. Mine included. My projects were sponsored by his nonprofit. Among the infractions that were committed were documents turned in to all local courts, or documents given to offenders to to turn into courts. These were court ordered community service workers.
Most, if not all courts require offenders working of their community service hours to work with nonprofits. Not just any nonprofit. They must be a designated 501c3 nonprofit. This nonprofit claimed they were but were not. So all metro Atlanta courts have hundreds of letters from this nonprofit fraudulently saying they are a 501c3 nonprofit. This is of course a felony. Even doing the math I can’t imagine how many counts or how many municipalities are involved.
I raised funds for them for years. I mean a lot of funds. I only asked 2 or 3 times to help someone out financially though the nonprofit. They did help them. It turns out this was all they did. The owner of the nonprofit simply made his living from the nonprofit. Why work when you have people donating? I spoke with a senior special agent in charge with the IRS this weekend, he’s a personal friend. Using all the money for himself will close the nonprofit down. That’s a start. My friend is getting me an appointment to meet with a nonprofit fraud agent this week. I’m getting the paper work ready now. Been working on it for weeks.
Integrity? I think nonprofits should have it. Googling the owner of the nonprofit the predominant thing that shows up are mugshots. Theft by taking, theft by deception, theft of all kind, etc, etc, etc. Convictions too. Every county with an online records search in metro Atlanta has him on it. Cobb, Gwinnett, Fulton, Dekalb, just to name a few. Aside from feeling like an idiot, I now feel a duty to handle this immediately. Printing the documents turned into courts by this felon, mugshots, arrest & court records, and ads ran by him, this weekend gave me a folder that’s 2 inches thick.
I am filling out the paperwork to turn him in personally as well. He bragged he quit filing taxes in 2005. Wanted to stay under the radar. Wow. Really? Why would he tell me that? Did he want me to be a party to his crime? All I can do is the next right thing. So this week is dedicated to just that. I emailed every district attorney office in metro Atlanta over the weekend about this. I also emailed some out of state. The IRS will receive my forms today via email. I’m taking the time to do what’s right. You should as well. Let’s clean this area up and start helping people again.
TIP? KS@KENNETHSTEPP.COM
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http://www.prlog.org/
