Attorney General Lisa Madigan of Illinois has filed a lawsuit against Safety Publications Inc., a professional fundraiser and telemarketing organization based in Chicago, for misleading the public and its clients regarding its operations. Madigan claimed that the owners and representatives of the organization failed to disclose that Safety Publications Inc. is a for-profit group.
The public official targeted Adam Herdman and Arthur Olivera, the owners of the fundraiser, in the lawsuit filed on Wednesday at the Cook County Circuit Court, the Chicago Tribune reported. Madigan noted that through their operations, the organization and its owners were able to amass millions of dollars from donors.
According to her, Safety Publications Inc. partnered with VietNow, a charitable organization based in Rockford that provides aid to veterans, the Pantagraph has learned. As a telemarketer, the former handled the pledges from donors for the latter.
However, Safety Publications Inc. did not notify donors that it is also directly earning from their donations. In other words, it did not explain how the donations will be used. For Madigan, this type of operation can be considered as a fraudulent scheme designed to trick people into giving money. Aside from this, the organization did not mention that Olivera has a felony conviction.
"These fundraisers are brazen con artists who refuse to follow the law and continue to fundraise illegally in spite of a previous court order," she said in a statement, according to the Daily Herald. "I am filing this lawsuit to put an end to their serial fraud. When people donate their money to a worthy cause, their money should be used to further the mission of the charity."
In the lawsuit, Madigan is seeking the total profits earned by Safety Publications Inc. while working with VietNow, as well as the $1.4 million worth of fees it took from the veterans' charity ever since the two organizations formed their partnership in 2010. Madigan said that the amount which will be collected in the lawsuit will be given away to the registered charities in Illinois.
