LEGAL NEWSLINE

NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced a $50,000 settlement on Thursday with a telemarketer who allegedly violated an order barring him from raising money for charity in the state of New York.

Mark Gelvan, a telemarketer who runs multiple New Jersey-based companies that solicit charitable donations, allegedly violated the terms of an earlier settlement when one of his companies brokered agreements with a fundraiser to raise money in New York. In 2004, Gelvan was banned from raising money in New York after one of his telemarketing companies allegedly made fraudulent claims to potential contributors.

Starting in 2010, Raising Money Inc., a company wholly owned by Gelvan, brokered agreements for Midwest Publishing-DN Inc., an Arizona-based fundraising company, with the Virginia-based National Vietnam Veterans Foundation and the Florida-based Women to Women Breast Cancer Foundation. In return for brokering the agreements, Midwest agreed to give Gelvan and Raising Money Inc. a portion of the charitable donations Midwest raised for the groups.

Schneiderman's Charities Bureau alleged Gelvan received $37,720.24 from New Yorkers' charitable donations to Midwest and the two groups.

"After he was banned from raising charitable dollars in New York state, this telemarketer did an end-run around the court's order and again started to raise money from generous and unsuspecting New Yorkers," Schneiderman said. "This time, Mr. Gelvan raised this money by acting as a third party broker. Settlements with this office will be enforced, and those who try to avoid or skirt their obligations will be found out and held accountable."

Under the terms of the settlement, Gelvan and Raising Money Inc. must pay $50,000 to the state. Gelvan remains barred from conducting and receiving any benefits from the solicitation of New York charitable donations.