{"id":30610,"date":"2018-07-22T13:05:39","date_gmt":"2018-07-22T13:05:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/07\/22\/heres-how-state-and-federal-authorities-are-targeting-sham-veteran-charities\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T06:40:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T06:40:49","slug":"heres-how-state-and-federal-authorities-are-targeting-sham-veteran-charities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/2018\/07\/22\/heres-how-state-and-federal-authorities-are-targeting-sham-veteran-charities\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s how state and federal authorities are targeting sham veteran charities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Federal and state authorities have put sham veteran charities on notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m here to warn scam artists: Watch out. We\u2019re investigating complaints. We will track you down, and in partnerships with our [state] attorneys general, we will shut you down,\u201d said John Wobensmith, Maryland Secretary of State, during a news conference announcing the initiative that included other states\u2019 attorneys general, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Better Business Bureau\u2019s Wise Giving Alliance..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FTC \u2015 with law enforcement officials and charity regulators in 70 offices from every state, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam and Puerto Rico \u2015 announced \u201cOperation Donate with Honor,\u201d which includes the crackdown on sham charities, as well as an education campaign for potential donors<\/a>. Officials announced more than 100 actions<\/a> across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FTC Chairman Joe Simons announced action against a charity, Help the Vets, Inc., which was run by Neil G. \u201cPaul\u201d Paulson, Sr., who is reportedly an Army veteran, according to his Guidestar charity profile, and according to an Internet Archive of Help The Vets\u2019 website. His military service couldn\u2019t be immediately confirmed. The Guidestar profile says the charity is closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This image appeared next to Neil Paulson’s biography on the Help for Vets charity webpage, which has since been taken down. Paulson and the charity have been banned from soliciting donations as part of a series of settlements. (Help the Vets via Internet Archive)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Paulson and Help the Vets Inc. will be banned from soliciting charitable contributions under settlements with the FTC and the states of Florida, California, Maryland, Minnesota, Ohio and Oregon, for allegedly falsely promising donors their contributions would help wounded and disabled veterans. Officials alleged that Help the Vets collected more than $20 million from 2014 through 2017, and that 95 percent of those donations went to fundraising, administrative expenses and Paulson\u2019s salary and benefits … not to veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attorneys for Paulson and for Help the Vets Inc. declined to comment, they said, \u201cbecause there is a lawsuit pending.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paulson also reportedly operated charities under the names of American Disabled Veterans Foundation, Veterans Fighting Breast Cancer, Vets Fighting Breast Cancer, Military Families of America and Veterans Emergency Blood Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\t