Attorney
General DeWine, Pennsylvania
Attorney
General Sue Ohio Solicitor for Deceiving Donors
(LIMA,
Ohio)—Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine
today filed a lawsuit and was granted a temporary restraining order
against Youngstown-area
Encore Music Productions Ltd. and its agents for deceiving donors while
soliciting for firefighter and police charities. The Pennsylvania
Attorney
General also filed a lawsuit against the business.
“These
telemarketers used misleading tactics to
solicit donations from Ohio families under the pretense of supporting
police
and firefighters,” Attorney General DeWine said. “In some cases, they
even
pretended to be firefighters. This situation required immediate action
to
prevent further deception and fraud. Ohioans deserve to know the truth
about
their donations.”
Since
2006, Encore has solicited for more than
30 organizations in Ohio and four organizations in Pennsylvania by
selling
tickets and business advertisements for local concerts.
An
investigation by Attorney General DeWine’s
office found that Encore and its agents Phil’s Productions LLC, MVP
Productions, and Sharp Productions committed several violations
including:
Lying
to donors by saying 100 percent of
donations went to a local charity, when only 10 to 33 percent went to
charity.
Training
telemarketers to falsely identify
themselves as volunteers or firefighters.
Failing
to identify themselves as professional
solicitors.
Hiring
more than 22 recently convicted felons
as telemarketers in violation of Ohio law.
Failing
to properly register with the Ohio
Attorney General’s Office.
Attorney
General DeWine’s 42-count civil
lawsuit, filed in the Allen County Common Pleas Court, alleges
violations of
Ohio’s Corrupt Activities Act and the Ohio Charitable Organizations
Act,
including money laundering, mail and wire fraud, theft, and deceptive
acts and
practices. The Attorney General seeks an order shutting down the
enterprise,
redistribution of its assets to legitimate charities, civil penalties,
and
other costs.
The
lawsuit names 18 defendants: Encore Music
Productions Ltd. of Boardman; Phil's Productions LLC of Youngstown;
Joseph
Chiovitti of Boardman; Philip Howells of Youngstown; M.V.P. Productions
LLC of
Cambridge; Martin Vernello of East Liverpool; Kingsley Harris of
Canfield;
Jennifer Fairall of Campbell; Jessica Covington of Lowellville; Matthew
Bocian
of Youngstown; William Sharp and Waive Sharp, doing business as Sharp
Productions, of Bucyrus; William
Berrier
of North Lima; Abby Makara of Youngstown; Laura Harper of Cambridge;
Jaime
Kegarise of Struthers; Esther Holmes of Youngstown; and John Douglas of
Youngstown.
Attorney
General DeWine thanked the Ohio State
Fraternal Order of Police and the Ohio Association of Professional Fire
Fighters,
including several of their local chapters, for providing information
and
assisting in the investigation.
The
Attorney General’s action against Encore is
part of an ongoing effort to crack down on professional solicitors that
fail to
comply with Ohio law. In August, the Attorney General reached a
settlement with
Gordon & Schwenkmeyer, a California-based professional
solicitor that
agreed to pay $39,600 to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office after the
office
discovered dozens of violations, including failure to file timely
solicitation
notices or financial reports.
Ohioans
can research professional solicitors or
report suspicious charitable activity to the Ohio Attorney General’s
Office at
www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov or by calling 800-282-0515.
Copies
of the lawsuit and temporary restraining
order are available on the Ohio Attorney General's website.
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