(1) A person commits charitable fraud if he or she:
Knowingly solicits any contribution and in the course of such solicitation knowinglyperforms any act or omission in violation of any of the provisions of sections 6-16-104 to 6-16107 and 6-16-110;
Knowingly solicits any contribution and, in aid of or in the course of such solicitation, utilizes the name or symbol of another person or organization without written authorization from such person or organization for such use;
Solicits any contribution and, in aid of or in the course of such solicitation, utilizes aname, symbol, or statement which is closely related or similar to that used by another person or organization with the intent to mislead the person to whom the solicitation is made that said solicitation is on the behalf of or is affiliated with such other person or organization;
With the intent to defraud, knowingly solicits contributions and, in aid of such solicitation, assumes, or allows to be assumed, a false or fictitious identity or capacity, except for a trade name or trademark registered in this state by that person or his employer;
Knowingly fails to create and maintain all records required by section 6-16-109 to becreated and maintained or knowingly fails to make available said records for examination and photocopying at the office of the district attorney or at his own office in this state with copying facilities furnished free of charge, within five days after a written demand for the production of said records by the district attorney, or within twenty days with respect to records kept out of state;
Knowingly makes a misrepresentation of a material fact in any notice, report, or record required to be filed, maintained, or created by this article;
With the intent to defraud, devises or executes a scheme or artifice to defraud bymeans of a solicitation or obtains money, property, or services by means of a false or fraudulent pretense, representation, or promise in the course of a solicitation. A representation may be any manifestation of any assertion by words or conduct, including, but not limited to, a failure to disclose a material fact.
Represents or causes another to represent that contributions are tax-deductible unlessthey so qualify under the federal internal revenue code;
Represents or causes another to represent that a contribution to a charitable organization will be used for a purpose other than the purpose for which the charitable organization actually intends to use such contribution;
Represents or causes another to represent that a greater portion of the contributionwill go to a charitable organization than the actual portion that will go to such organization;
Represents or causes another to represent that the solicitor is located in a geographicarea that is different from the geographic area in which the solicitor is actually located;
Represents or causes another to represent that the solicitor has a sponsorship, approval, status, affiliation, or connection with an organization or purpose that the solicitor does not actually have;
Represents or causes another to represent that the person to whom a solicitation ismade is under an obligation to make a contribution;
Represents or causes another to represent that failure to make a contribution willadversely affect the person's credit rating;
Represents or causes another to represent that the person has previously approved oragreed to make a contribution when in fact the person has not given such approval or agreement; or
Represents or causes another to represent that the person has previously contributedto the same organization or for the same purpose when in fact the person has not so contributed.
(1.5) A person commits charitable fraud if he or she, in the course of or in furtherance of a solicitation, misrepresents to, misleads, makes false statements to, or uses a name other than the solicitor's legal name in communicating with a person being solicited in any manner that would lead a reasonable person to believe that:
If the person being solicited makes a contribution, he or she will receive specialbenefits or favorable treatment from a police, sheriff, patrol, firefighting, or other law enforcement agency or department of government;
If the person being solicited fails to make a contribution, he or she will receive unfavorable treatment from a police, sheriff, patrol, firefighting, or other law enforcement agency or department of government; or
The membership organization for which the person is soliciting has a significantmembership of a certain type, including active police, sheriff, patrol, firefighters, first responders, or veterans when the organization does not have a significant membership of that type. For purposes of this paragraph (c), "significant membership" means ten percent of the membership of the organization or one hundred members, whichever is less. For purposes of this paragraph (c), "membership organization" means an organization that is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization under 26 U.S.C. sec. 501 (c) of the federal "Internal Revenue Code of 1986", as amended, and has members who pay regular membership dues.
Any person who commits charitable fraud in violation of paragraph (b), (c), (d), (f),or (g) of subsection (1) of this section is guilty of a class 5 felony, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished in accordance with section 18-1.3-401, C.R.S.
Any person who commits charitable fraud in violation of paragraph (a), (e), or (h) to(p) of subsection (1) of this section, or of subsection (1.5) of this section, is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished in accordance with section 18-1.3501, C.R.S.; except that a person who commits a violation of any one or more of said paragraphs with respect to solicitations involving three separate contributors in any one solicitation campaign is guilty of a class 5 felony, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished in accordance with section 18-1.3-401, C.R.S.
Charitable fraud which is a felony shall be deemed a class 1 public nuisance andsubject to the provisions of part 3 of article 13 of title 16, C.R.S.
Violation of any provision of this article also shall constitute a deceptive trade practice in violation of the "Colorado Consumer Protection Act", article 1 of this title, and shall be subject to remedies or penalties, or both, pursuant thereto.
(a) In addition to any other applicable penalty, the secretary of state may deny, suspend, or revoke the registration of any charitable organization, professional fund-raising consultant, or paid solicitor that makes a false statement or omits material information in any registration statement, annual report, or other information required to be filed by this article or that acts or fails to act in such a manner as otherwise to violate any provision of this article. The secretary of state may also deny, suspend, or revoke the registration of any person who does not meet the requirements for registration set forth in this article.
Upon notice from the secretary of state that a registration has been denied or is subject to suspension or revocation, the aggrieved party may request a hearing. The request for hearing must be made within thirty days after the date of the notice. Proceedings for any such denial, suspension, or revocation hearing are governed by the "State Administrative Procedure Act", article 4 of title 24; except that the secretary of state shall promulgate rules to provide for expedited deadlines to govern such proceedings and shall bear the burden of proof. The status quo concerning the ability of the aggrieved party to solicit funds is maintained during the pendency of the proceedings. Judicial review is available pursuant to section 24-4-106.
In addition to other remedies authorized by law, the secretary of state may bring acivil action in the district court of any judicial district in which venue is proper for the purpose of obtaining injunctive relief against any person who violates, or threatens to violate, the provisions of this article.
The rights and remedies available to the secretary of state pursuant to this subsection(6) shall not affect the rights and remedies available to any other person seeking relief for violations of this article or any other applicable law.
(7) If a paid solicitor commits charitable fraud in the course of making a solicitation for a charitable organization, the charitable organization shall also be liable for any applicable remedies and penalties if the charitable organization knew or should have known that the paid solicitor was engaged in charitable fraud. This subsection (7) does not extend personal liability to board members of a charitable organization beyond the personal liability allowed by section 13-21-116 (2)(b)(I), C.R.S., or as otherwise allowed by law prior to August 10, 2016.
Source: L. 88: Entire article added, p. 357, § 1, effective July 1. L. 89: (1)(a) and (1)(e) amended, p. 367, § 7, effective July 1. L. 93: (5) added, p. 1575, § 8, effective July 1. L. 2001: IP(1) and (3) amended and (1)(h), (1)(i), (1)(j), (1)(k), (1)(l), (1)(m), (1)(n), (1)(o), (1)(p), (1.5), and (6) added, pp. 1247, 1248, §§ 7, 8, effective May 9, 2002. L. 2004: (2) and (3) amended, p. 1188, § 9, effective August 4. L. 2016: (1.5) amended and (7) added, (HB 16-1129), ch. 262, p. 1077, § 4, effective August 10. L. 2017: (6)(b) amended, (HB 17-1158), ch. 160, p. 595, § 5, effective October 1, 2018.
Editor's note: Prior to its repeal in 1988, provisions concerning charitable fraud were found in § 18-5-115.