(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today announced an agreement with CTS Charisma Tropical Sun, Inc. to stop illegal charitable trust and solicitation activities in Ohio.
“Ohioans have a right to expect charities operating in our state to comply with the law and to be accountable,” said Attorney General DeWine. “CTS failed to meet those standards,”
CTS, also known as Ohio Helps, operated about 600 vending boxes used to sell lollipops in retail locations throughout Ohio. Money raised from the vending boxes was supposed to support Pollution Solution and American Forests, the charities named on the boxes, but they were not aware their names were being used, and they received little, if any, of the proceeds.
CTS founder Jeffrey Kuntz failed to register as a charitable trust with the Attorney General’s Office or meet the reporting requirements before soliciting contributions.
Terms of the Assurance of Discontinuance include:
- CTS will stop all charitable trust and solicitation activities in Ohio in violation of Ohio Law
- CTS will provide proof to the Ohio Attorney General that proceeds raised were in fact distributed to legitimate charities
- If no proof of distribution is provided, CTS will pay $7,000 to the Ohio Attorney General who will then distribute the money for charitable purposes similar to what CTS claimed to represent
For additional information about a charity or to file a complaint about a questionable organization, call the Attorney General’s Office at 800-282-0515 or go online at www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov.
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Documents
Assurance of Discontinuance (PDF)
Media Contacts
Dan Tierney: 614-466-3840
Lisa Hackley: 614-466-0508