(1) A person commits charitable fraud if he or
she:
(a) Knowingly solicits any contribution and in the course of such solicitation
knowingly performs any act or omission in violation of any of the provisions of
sections 6-16-104 to 6-16-107 and 6-16-110;
(b) 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;
(c) Solicits any contribution and, in aid of or in the course of such solicitation,
utilizes a name, 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;
(d) 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;
(e) Knowingly fails to create and maintain all records required by section 6-16-109 to be created 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;
(f) Knowingly makes a misrepresentation of a material fact in any notice,
report, or record required to be filed, maintained, or created by this article;
(g) With the intent to defraud, devises or executes a scheme or artifice to
defraud by means 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.
(h) Represents or causes another to represent that contributions are tax-deductible unless they so qualify under the federal internal revenue code;
(i) 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;
(j) Represents or causes another to represent that a greater portion of the
contribution will go to a charitable organization than the actual portion that will go
to such organization;
(k) Represents or causes another to represent that the solicitor is located in
a geographic area that is different from the geographic area in which the solicitor is
actually located;
(l) 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;
(m) Represents or causes another to represent that the person to whom a
solicitation is made is under an obligation to make a contribution;
(n) Represents or causes another to represent that failure to make a
contribution will adversely affect the person's credit rating;
(o) Represents or causes another to represent that the person has previously
approved or agreed to make a contribution when in fact the person has not given
such approval or agreement; or
(p) Represents or causes another to represent that the person has previously
contributed to 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:
(a) If the person being solicited makes a contribution, he or she will receive
special benefits or favorable treatment from a police, sheriff, patrol, firefighting, or
other law enforcement agency or department of government;
(b) 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
(c) The membership organization for which the person is soliciting has a
significant membership 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.
(2) 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.
(3) 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 18-1.3-501, 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.
(4) Charitable fraud which is a felony shall be deemed a class 1 public
nuisance and subject to the provisions of part 3 of article 13 of title 16, C.R.S.
(5) 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.
(6) (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.
(b) 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.
(c) In addition to other remedies authorized by law, the secretary of state
may bring a civil 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.
(d) 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.