Veterans charity charged with deceiving the public

The Texas Attorney General’s office has charged the Veterans Support Organization, a Florida-based charity that has come under fire in several states, with deceiving Texas donors by falsely telling them their donations would help needy local veterans.

In a lawsuit filed this week in Travis County District Court, state prosecutors seek to seize funds raised by the group in Texas and bar the group from operating in the state. For several years, the group operated chapters in Austin, Dallas and Houston, sending veterans and non-veterans alike to stand outside of supermarkets and other stores to raise money. According to the lawsuit, the group raised $2.5 million in the state between 2010 and 2012.

The attorney general’s office is also seeking tens of thousands of dollars in fines against VSO president Richard Van Houten and three associates.

In February, the American-Statesman published an investigation into the group, revealing that it gave less than 1 percent of the $7.1 million it raised from the public in 2011 in grants to needy veterans. Members of the Austin and Dallas chapters quit as a group in December after managers said they became aware of how much money the group was sending out of state.

More at http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local-military/veterans-charity-charged-with-deceiving-the-public/nfH8p/ .

Cross-posted in the Texas Group.