(COLUMBUS, Ohio) -- Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today announced that a Columbus woman has been ordered to pay $418,500 and not to hold a position in any charity in Ohio after misusing charitable donations meant to help veterans and their families.
In a decision issued today, a Magistrate with the Franklin County Common Pleas Court found that Rebecca Drobnick committed multiple violations of Ohio’s charitable laws and ordered her to pay $383,500 for breaching her fiduciary duties, a $20,000 penalty for failing to comply with the investigation, $5,000 in damages for common law fraud, plus $10,000 in punitive damages.
The decision comes after a five-day trial in April in a civil case brought against Drobnick by the Attorney General’s office for violations of Ohio’s charitable laws.
“We feel a debt of gratitude to our veterans and we naturally want to do what we can to help them,” said Attorney General DeWine. “Unfortunately, Rebecca Drobnick took money that should have been used to help veterans and used it for herself. We are glad the court saw through her lies and found that her actions violated state law.”
An investigation by the Attorney General’s Charitable Law Section found that around early 2010, Drobnick established a new, local chapter of a national organization that helps veterans and their families, but she used the local chapter’s bank account as if it were her own, purchasing restaurant meals, hair salon services, and car repairs. She also hired her son to perform information technology services and reimbursed him generously.
Before making a charitable donation, Attorney General DeWine encourages donors to research an organization carefully.
In Ohio, individuals can determine whether an organization is in compliance with its registration obligations or whether a professional solicitor is properly registered by contacting the Ohio Attorney General's Office at 800-282-0515 or www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov.
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