MI Attorney General Sues Fundraiser, Agency
Michigan Attorney General Jennifer M. Granholm has filed a lawsuit against a state charity and its teleservices agency, alleging that they solicited donations from consumers by telephone without a license.Granholm's lawsuit asked for an injunction against Michigan Wish, Troy, MI, and its agency, Telestar Group Inc., Clawson, MI, to stop them from telemarketing for donations. The lawsuit alleges that Michigan Wish, which claims to work to help seriously ill children, neither applied for nor received a charitable-solicitation license, which is required in the state to raise funds by telemarketing campaigns.
The lawsuit further stated that the charitable organization's name too closely resembles the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Michigan, another charity for seriously ill children. Citizens who received solicitations from Michigan Wish complained that they thought they were receiving a call from the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Michigan, though that organization does not conduct fundraising by telemarketing.
