NY attorney general orders Trump Foundation to stop soliciting donations in the state
Donald Trump. Photo by a katz / Shutterstock.com
The charity foundation of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has been ordered to cease and desist soliciting New York contributions, based on allegations that it was not properly registered.
Eric Schneiderman, the New York attorney general, issued the notice, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. According to the Washington Post, Trump was the sole donor to his charity from 1987 to 2006, but he has not personally made a donation to the New York-based organization since 2008. Since then, the Donald J. Trump Foundation has existed entirely on outside donations, the newspaper reports, but no one has registered it under under article 7A of New York’s Executive Law, which is required for charities in the state that annually solicit more than $25,000 from the public. Charities which fall under that category are also subject to independent audits.
A website established by the foundation earlier this year, DonaldTrumpforVets.com, took in $1.67 million in donations, which Trump said would be given to veterans’ groups, the Post reported Thursday.
Also, the Post claims that the foundation received more than $2.3 million from companies that owed money to Trump or one of his businesses. It mentions a $400,000 appearance fee for a 2011 Comedy Central Roast, claiming that the network was directed to pay the fee to the Trump Foundation.
The Trump Foundation has no paid employees, according to the Post. Trump serves as its president. Three of his children and a Trump Organization employee are its board members.
Schneiderman previously launched an investigation, which is ongoing, the Post reports, about Trump using foundation money to make a political donation in support of Florida AG Pam Bondi; buy paintings of himself; and settle lawsuits involving his for-profit businesses. Trump later reimbursed his foundation with $25,000 in his personal funds to cover the donation to Bondi, and also paid a $2,500 penalty to the IRS for the error.
Schneiderman, a Democrat, also filed a lawsuit against Trump in 2013 that claimed his school Trump University lacked appropriate licensing and defrauded students. Trump denied the allegations, according to the Wall Street Journal, and the case is still pending. It’s one of three class actions filed against Trump University, the New York Times reported.
Regarding the investigation announced Monday, a Trump campaign representative could not be immediately be reached for comment, the Wall Street Journal reports. Jason Miller, the candidate’s senior communications advisor, has previously referred to Schneiderman as a “partisan hack,” according to the article.
Besides stopping all of its fundraising in New York, the state attorney general’s office ordered the Trump Foundation to turn over its annual reports and audited financial statements within 15 days.
