An investigation by the Washington Free Beacon found that Stacey Abrams’s New Georgia Project is getting donations without a license in at least nine states.
This could open them up to criminal inquiries – the penalties could range from $25 to $25,000.
The New Georgia Project raised $25 million in 2020.
Attorney Paul Kamenar said that the nonprofit “is in gross violation of many state laws by soliciting contributions from the public while their registration as a charity has lapsed.”
He said he plans on filing a formal complaint with state enforcement agencies demanding an investigation.
The Washington Free Beacon reported:
Stacey Abrams’s New Georgia Project is collecting donations without a license in at least nine states, opening itself up to fines and criminal inquiries, a Washington Free Beacon investigation found.
State laws across the country prohibit charities that have not filed required financial disclosures with the IRS from soliciting donations. But the New Georgia Project, which missed the Nov. 15 deadline to file its Form 990, is still raising money through a nationwide campaign hosted by the online fundraising platform ActBlue. Representatives at the relevant agencies in Tennessee, Mississippi, and North Carolina, where the New Georgia Project’s charity license has expired, told the Free Beacon that the group could face fines ranging from $25 dollars to $25,000 for violating their state’s charity laws. Some of those fines could be issued for each donation the group accepts.
According to Paul Kamenar, an attorney with the National Legal and Policy Center, the group could soon face more trouble.
“It’s clear that the New Georgia Project is in gross violation of many state laws by soliciting contributions from the public while their registration as a charity has lapsed,” Kamenar told the Free Beacon, noting that his group “plans to file formal complaints with appropriate state enforcement agencies demanding an investigation and imposition of penalties.”
The group’s license is expired in Tennessee, Mississippi, North Carolina, Colorado, North Dakota, Maine, Oklahoma, Maryland, and California.
The New Georgia Project did not give a response to the Washington Free Beacon.
Will there finally be accountability?