IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF JACKSON COUNTY AT KANSAS CITY STATE OF MISSOURI

Transcription

1 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF JACKSON COUNTY AT KANSAS CITY STATE OF MISSOURI STATE OF MISSOURI, ex rel. ) Attorney General CHRIS KOSTER, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) Case No. v. ) ) Division: RAVEN THORNHEART, ) An individual, ) ) Serve at: ) 100 NE Tudor Rd., Suite 109 ) Lee s Summit, MO ) ) Defendant. ) PETITION FOR ENFORCEMENT OF CIVIL INVESTIGATIVE DEMAND Plaintiff, State of Missouri, at the relation of Attorney General Chris Koster, brings this Petition for Enforcement of a Civil Investigative Demand against Defendant, and upon information and belief, states as follows: PARTIES 1. Chris Koster is the duly elected, qualified, and acting Attorney General of the State of Missouri and brings this action in his official capacity pursuant to Chapter 407, RSMo All references are to Missouri Revised Statutes 2010, unless otherwise noted. Where a citation gives a supplement year e.g. (Supp. 2011) the citation is to the version of the statute that appears in the corresponding supplementary version of the Missouri Revised Statutes, and, where relevant, to identical versions published in previous supplements. 1

2 2. Defendant Raven Thornheart is an individual who resides and does business at 100 NE Tudor Rd., Suite 109, Lee s Summit, MO JURISDICTION 3. This Court has subject matter and personal jurisdiction over the Defendant under Art. V, 14 Mo. Const. 4. This Court has authority over this action pursuant to , which allows the Attorney General to file in the trial court of general jurisdiction of a county or judicial district in which such person resides, is found, or transacts business, and serve upon such person a petition for an order of such court for the enforcement of such Civil Investigative Demand. VENUE 5. Venue is proper in this Court pursuant to , which provides that: Whenever any person fails to comply with any civil investigative demand duly served upon him under section or whenever satisfactory copying or reproduction of any such material cannot be done and such person refuses to surrender such material, the attorney general, may file, in the trial court of general jurisdiction of a county or judicial district in which such person resides, is found, or transacts business, and serve upon such person a petition for an order of such court for the enforcement of such civil investigative demand. Whenever any petition is filed in the trial court of general jurisdiction of a county or judicial district under this section, such court shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine the matter so presented, and to enter such order or orders as may be required to carry into 2

3 effect the provisions of section Any disobedience of any final order entered under this section by any court shall be punished as a contempt thereof. 6. Venue is proper in Jackson County because Defendant Raven Thornheart resides and does business in Jackson County. MERCHANDISING PRACTICES ACT 7. Section of the Merchandising Practices Act provides in pertinent part: When it appears to the attorney general that a person has engaged in or is engaging in any method, act, use, practice or solicitation declared to be unlawful by this chapter or when he believes it to be in the public interest that an investigation should be made to ascertain whether a person in fact has engaged in or is engaging in any such method, act, use, practice or solicitation, he may execute in writing and cause to be served upon any person who is believed to have information, documentary material, or physical evidence relevant to the alleged or suspected violation, a civil investigative demand requiring such person to appear and testify, or to produce relevant documentary material or physical evidence or examination, at such reasonable time and place as may be stated in the civil investigative demand, concerning the advertisement, sale or offering for sale of any goods or services or the conduct of any trade or commerce or the conduct of any solicitation that is the subject matter of the investigation. Service of any civil investigative demand, notice, or subpoena may be made by any person authorized by law to serve process or by any duly authorized employee of the attorney general. 3

4 ALLEGATIONS OF FACTS RELEVANT TO ALL COUNTS 8. It appears to the Attorney General that Defendant Raven Thornheart used deception, fraud, false promises, misrepresentations, unfair practices, or the concealment, suppression, or omission of material facts in connection with the solicitation of funds for charitable purposes. 9. Civil Investigative Demand No. SL ( Investigative Demand ) was served by hand-delivery to Defendant Raven Thornheart on December 4, 2012 by Investigator James Gatesman at 100 NE Tudor Rd., Suite 109 in Lee s Summit, MO. A copy of which is attached as Exhibit 1 and incorporated herein. 10. The Investigative Demand required Defendant Raven Thornheart to produce documentation and provide written answers to requests for information. Defendant Raven Thornheart was required to produce the documentation and information by January 3, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. by mail or by delivery to Investigator James Gatesman at the Missouri Attorney General s Office in Jefferson City. Defendant was also given the option to produce the information and documents by As of the filing date of this petition, Defendant Raven Thornheart has yet to comply with the Investigative Demand. 4

5 12. On January 3, 2013, Investigator James Gatesman contacted Defendant Raven Thornheart by and asked for Defendant to contact him by phone. Defendant did not call but replied by instead: Illness, a death, the holidays, and the attorney s time being tight has delayed the official response. I m sure the attorney will be in touch. 13. On January 8, 2013, five days after the response deadline had elapsed, Investigator James Gatesman contacted Defendant Raven Thornheart by letter and requesting her compliance with the Investigative Demand. The following day, Defendant s only reply was an that stated: Casey will be in touch. At this time, Plaintiff was unaware of the identity of Casey. 14. On January 9, 2013 Assistant Attorney General Robert Carlson ed Defendant Raven Thornheart to ask for her attorney s name and reiterate the necessity of her compliance with the Investigative Demand. Defendant merely replied with: As to;d Jim I can have Casey call him [sic]. 15. On January 10, 2013, Assistant Attorney General Robert Carlson ed Defendant Raven Thornheart again reiterating the necessity of her compliance with the Investigative Demand and inquiring as to the identity of Casey. 5

6 16. On January 11, 2013 Defendant Raven Thornheart responded by stating: I am consulting Casey Symonnds. Hewilladvise me how tp respond. However I have answered most of your questions already. You have the "complaints" frpm my ex husband & his friends. I did exactly what the attorney that did the filing told me. I wasnot required to register with you. Casey will be in touch [sic]. 17. Assistant Attorney General Robert Carlson then contacted attorney Casey Symonds who stated that he did not represent Defendant Raven Thornheart. 18. On January 15, 2013, Defendant Raven Thornheart sent an e- mail attaching a letter dated November 30, 2012 from the IRS which stated that Hope for Home and Family, Inc. was recognized as exempt from taxation under 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3). However, she still failed to respond to the Investigative Demand as required by On January 18, 2013 Assistant Attorney General Robert Carlson wrote a letter to Defendant Raven Thornheart stating that the Investigative Demand incorporates issues beyond registration requirements and includes concerns that Defendant has engaged in deceptive practices by failing to use donations of both money and goods for the purposes for which they were solicited. Further, the determination letter from the IRS did not excuse her lack of compliance with the Investigative Demand. 6

7 20. On February 6, 2013, Defendant Raven Thornheart explained in an that she was having financial difficulty retaining a new attorney due to misappropriation of funds from her bank account. Defendant also explained that some of the items intended for The Free Store were taken by other individuals. She also stated that the other items were possibly stolen by yet another individual. Defendant continued to fail to produce the information and documents required by the Investigative Demand. 21. As the filing date of this petition, Defendant has still failed to comply with the investigative demand served upon her. RELIEF WHEREFORE, Plaintiff prays this Court enter an order and judgment: 1. Compelling the Defendant to produce within five days of this judgment the following information, documents, materials, and evidence as requested by the Investigate Demand: a. Identify all banks, and account numbers, into which donations, funds, checks, or other payments have been deposited on behalf of Hope For Home And Family, Inc. or The Free Store since July 1, b. Identify all banks, and account numbers, used by Raven Thornheart-Couch and Hope For Home And Family, Inc. since July 1,

8 c. Copies of all documents indicating the identity, by name and address or other relevant contact information, of all persons who donated or transferred any funds for any charitable purpose to Raven Thornheart-Couch and Hope For Home And Family, Inc. since July 1, 2012, and the amount of money collected from the respective donors. d. Copies of all documents indicating the identity, by name and address or other relevant contact information, of all persons who donated any sort of goods, personal property, or other tangible items for any charitable purpose to Raven Thornheart-Couch and Hope For Home And Family, Inc. since July 1, e. Copies of all receipts for donations issued to each donor since July 1, f. Copies of all documents indicating the identity, by name and address, of each recipient of goods or any other non-cash assistance provided by Raven Thornheart-Couch and Hope For Home And Family, Inc. since July 1, g. Copies of all documents that show the total amount of monetary and property donations collected by Raven Thornheart-Couch and Hope For Home And Family, Inc. since July 1, 2012, such documents should include all financial statements, spreadsheets, and other donation logs. h. Copies of all meeting minutes and corporate by-laws for Hope For Home And Family, Inc. i. If you have submitted an application for tax-exempt status to the Internal Revenue Service (the Form 1023) for Hope For Home And Family, Inc., please provide a copy. 2. Requiring Defendant, pursuant to , to pay all court, investigative, and prosecution costs of this case. 3. Granting any additional relief that is just or proper. 8

9 Respectfully submitted, CHRIS KOSTER Attorney General /s/ Robert E. Carlson Robert E. Carlson Assistant Attorney General Missouri Bar No Olive St. St. Louis, MO (314) Telephone (314) Facsimile 9