Attorney General Phil Weiser shuts down fake charity for deceptive military care package fraud

May 16, 2024 (DENVER) – Attorney General Phil Weiser today announced a settlement with First Choice Processing, its owner Durand Kelby Tovar, and his associated companies after an investigation found Tovar was operating an illegal, unregistered charity that falsely claimed to benefit active-duty service members, veterans, and their families.

Beginning in at least 2013, Tovar, who resides in Summit County, solicited donations by going door-to-door and asking consumers for money to buy care packages, which he claimed would be mailed to members of the military. Instead, investigators found Tovar bilked donors out of their cash for years, sending very few of the promised care packages. Tovar also failed to register his charity with the Colorado Secretary of State, or register himself as a paid solicitor, as required by state law.

“Fake charities of any kind are wrong and illegal, but it’s especially despicable for someone to take advantage of those who want to support our active-duty service members, veterans, and their families,” Weiser said. “We owe those who serve our country a deep debt of gratitude, and we will hold accountable fraudsters who defraud service members and veterans for personal gain.”

Tovar enticed prospective donors with empty promises. Marketing materials claimed a third-party distributor “annually sends 10,000 plus care packages filled with snacks, entertainment, hygiene and hand-made items, plus personal letter of appreciation to Veterans, New Recruits, and individually named U.S. services members deployed overseas.”

According to Tovar’s own statements to investigators, his companies had not used the distributor since at least 2017 and did not send anywhere near 10,000 care packages annually to military members or veterans. Despite continuing to solicit donations, investigators were unable to confirm if Tovar sent a single care package since at least 2021.

Under the terms of the settlement, Tovar is permanently barred from engaging in any direct or indirect charitable activities. He will also pay a $20,000 fine that may be used at the attorney general’s discretion for restitution, consumer education, enforcement, or to advance the public welfare. If Tovar fails to comply with the terms of the settlement, he will be required to pay $50,000.

The attorney general warns consumers that they should be skeptical of anyone going door-to-door to solicit charitable contributions. Legitimate charities rarely use door-to-door solicitation, but scammers posing as charities often do so.

Consumers can get more information about how to spot and avoid charity scams, and report fraud to the attorney general’s office, at StopFraudColorado.gov.

###