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Yost orders Ohio Clean Water Fund to dissolve

‘Sham’ charity ordered to repay nearly $132,000

LISBON — The Ohio Clean Water Fund, dubbed a sham charity by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost related to its fundraising for East Palestine, must dissolve and pay $131,904 in restitution and civil penalties.

Those were the terms of the lawsuit settlement outlined by Yost in a news release issued Wednesday.

“I stand by my word to fight for the community of East Palestine,” he said. “We sued to make sure the contributions improperly solicited from well-intentioned donors get into the hands of people who will use them for their intended purposes. Our fight isn’t over, but this is a win.”

The lawsuit was filed April 10 in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court by Yost against the Ohio Clean Water Fund and its founder, Michael Peppel of Leetonia, claiming that the non-=profit raised $141,183 from donors, with $91,769 going to administrative fees and only $10,000 from the $35,295 remaining going to Second Harvest Food Bank. Peppel and Ohio Clean Water Fund claimed to be representing Second Harvest Food Bank while soliciting the donations to benefit East Palestine, but that was not the case.

The food bank had not given permission to the group to raise funds on its behalf. Judge Scott Washam approved a preliminary injunction in the case against Ohio Clean Water Fund and Peppel, then last week, a voluntary dismissal of the lawsuit against Ohio Clean Water Fund was filed by Yost.

The complaint remains against Peppel, who created the Ohio Clean Water Fund, with the news release noting the office was working on an agreement “that will protect the charitable sector from any similar misconduct by Peppel and others involved in this scheme.”

The settlement for Ohio Clean Water Fund includes dismissal of the claims against it and against board member Patrick Lee, who was not named in the lawsuit, but was part of the board. According to the news release, Lee is barred from being a board member or soliciting money for a charity in the future and the Ohio Clean Water Fund must dissolve.

The $131,904 settlement payment includes $116,904 in restitution and $15,000 in civil penalties. Plans call for the Attorney General’s Office to disburse recovered funds to Second Harvest Food Bank.

When asked if any criminal charges would be filed related to the case, Kelly May, a spokesperson for Yost’s office, said that’s something that would be handled locally by the county prosecutor.

Columbiana County Prosecutor Vito Abruzzino said once the civil file is closed out, “we’ll certainly do our due diligence in looking at the case from a criminal point of view.”

A telephone conference remains set in the civil case for 3 p.m. June 28 before Washam.

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