AG Ellison Sues Minnesota Nonprofit for Misuse of Federal Children’s Food Funding During Covid-19 Pandemic

Lori Kalani, Bernard Nash
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  • Minnesota AG Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit against Minnesota nonprofit ThinkTechAct Foundation and three associated individuals for allegedly violating state nonprofit and charitable organization laws by defrauding a federal program meant to ensure distribution of food to children during the covid-19 pandemic.
  • According to the complaint, ThinkTechAct was a shell nonprofit designed to take advantage of changes to the federal government’s child-nutrition program made during the pandemic that eased requirements on meal-distribution sites. Although ThinkTechAct claimed to be serving meals to more than 25,000 children a day, the money received through the federal aid program was allegedly siphoned off and laundered, including millions of dollars that were directed to the personal bank accounts of an officer and a board member. The complaint also alleges that ThinkTechAct violated various state nonprofit laws regarding the registering and oversight of nonprofit entities.
  • The lawsuit seeks dissolution of ThinkTechAct, a permanent injunction against the individual defendants from handling or overseeing charitable funds in the future or from serving as directors of any nonprofit or charitable corporations in Minnesota, repayment of the assets that were fraudulently used for the personal benefit of the individual defendants, and civil penalties, among other things.
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