Friday, September 26, 2008
News Councilman sued by state
Posted by Mara Shalhoup on Fri, Sep 26, 2008 at 6:16 PM
The state Attorney General's Office filed suit today against Atlanta Councilman H. Lamar Willis, alleging that he sought and received donations for a scholarship fund in his name without first creating a nonprofit. State law mandates that charitable organizations must be registered with the Georgia Secretary of State before soliciting contributions.
The lawsuit also alleges that Willis failed to seek nonprofit-status with the IRS, according to a press release from the AG's office:
[T]he fund, known as the H. Lamar Willis Scholarship Foundation, held itself out to the public and to donors as a charitable organization, and the foundation’s website maintained that donations to the foundation were tax-deductible because the foundation had been approved by the IRS as a charitable organization. The suit alleges that Willis never obtained IRS approval for his foundation as a charitable organization.
According to the press release, the lawsuit also claims that Willis "transferred funds from the foundation’s account to both his personal as well as his campaign account. The lawsuit also alleges that Willis made cash withdrawals from the foundation account."
The state is seeking an injunction that would prevent Willis from continuing to operate the foundation, and to turn over all donations the foundation has received.
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