CONCORD, NH – Attorney General Joseph A. Foster announces that the Charitable Trusts Unit on April 20 obtained a preliminary injunction against a registered New Hampshire charitable organization, Veteran Museum of New Hampshire, in Wolfeboro, and its president, Henry T. Pratte.
Pratte must stop fundraising for a museum that doesn’t exist which he has claimed will be built on land he doesn’t own.
The injunction prohibits the Museum organization and Pratte from soliciting donations or accepting military artifacts, pending a final hearing in the case. This injunction comes after several years of efforts to bring the organization into compliance with the law.
The complaint against Veterans Museum of New Hampshire and Pratte was filed on March 27, 2015. It alleges that the defendants committed numerous violations of statutes concerning the solicitation of donations and the composition of the board of directors. In this case, it is alleged that the defendants maintained a website, veteransmuseumofnh.com, that sought donations to build a museum across from the New Hampshire Veterans Cemetery, on land they did not own, for an organization that had not obtained tax exempt status.
The complaint also claims that Pratte filed a false report with the Charitable Trusts Unit claiming that the organization fielded a full board of directors. Attorney General Foster urges members of the public, and especially veterans, to be extremely careful before contributing money or military artifacts to an organization that purports to support veterans’ causes.
All such organizations must first be registered with the Charitable Trusts Unit.
Attorney General Foster recommends that anyone considering making donations ask questions of the solicitor and research the organization on the Internet.
The public may also call the Charitable Trusts Unit at 271-3591.
Finally, Attorney General Foster asks that anyone who has donated money or military artifacts to Veterans Museum of New Hampshire to call the Charitable Trusts Unit at 271-3591.
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Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story briefly featured a photograph in error depicting the Wright Museum of WWII in Wolfeboro, NH, which has no affiliation or connection to the veteransmuseumofnh.com.
Manchester Ink Link strives for accuracy. If you see something amiss, please contact Editor Carol Robidoux at robidouxnews@gmail.com.
