Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s Office filed a lawsuit in Davidson County Chancery Court on Monday against a Memphis-based nonprofit that fundraised for organ transplant patients.
According to Skrmetti’s office, the National Foundation for Transplants, Inc. (NFT) ceased operations in April 2024 due to financial difficulties, which prompted complaints from patients and donors.
Among the complaints received following the organization’s closure were from patients and family members of patients who discovered they could no longer access the funds they believed had been raised specifically for their medical needs.
https://twitter.com/AGTennessee/status/1911901504782368962
Skrmetti’s office launched an investigation into the organization’s business practices and handling of patient donations after receiving 47 complaints – some of which were forwarded by the Tennessee Secretary of State’s Division of Business and Charitable Organizations and Connecticut Attorney General’s Office – as NFT claimed all donations were “unrestricted assets held in a general fund.”
Skrmetti said his office’s investigation into NFT “revealed troubling discrepancies” between how the organization “represented its services to vulnerable transplant patients and how it actually managed donations.”
“When a nonprofit organization solicits charitable contributions by telling donors their money will benefit specific transplant patients, those representations must be truthful and accurate. We are all grateful for the many Tennessee non-profits who serve our communities with selflessness and integrity, but organizations that betray the public trust will be held accountable,” Skrmetti added.
On Monday, Skrmetti’s office filed a lawsuit against NFT alleging that the company “misrepresented to patients and donors that funds donated “in honor of” or “on behalf of” specific patients would be restricted for use by those patients.”
The lawsuit seeks judicial dissolution under the Tennessee Nonprofit Corporation Act. If granted, the court would oversee the proper distribution of NFT’s remaining assets to another nonprofit with a similar mission.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “AG Jonathan Skrmetti” by AG Jonathan Skrmetti.
