NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee has fined a Florida-based fundraising company $720,000 for repeatedly failing to tell people that calls soliciting donations to the American Association of State Troopers were coming from a professional fundraiser.
According to a news release, the Tennessee Division of Charitable Solicitations and Gaming documented 144 cases between July 1 and Aug. 15 in which Xentel, Inc., representatives violated the Tennessee Charitable Solicitations Act. In many of those calls, the workers insinuated that the solicitation was being done by the charity.
Xentel was fined $5,000 for each violation.
Secretary of State Tre Harget said potential donors to a charity have a right to know if a fundraiser is involved and what percentage of their donations the fundraiser will take.
A message left for a Xentel spokesman was not immediately returned.