Trump Team Fined, Disbanded In Dispute With NJ Attorney General

NEW JERSEY — Trump for America Inc., a New Jersey-based 501(c)(4) social welfare organization that raised millions of dollars to support Donald J. Trump’s 2016 Presidential Transition, will be fined and disbanded as part of an agreement with Attorney General Gurbir Grewal.

“This case should send a message that all are equal before the law, and none are above it,” Grewal said. “We expect charitable organizations to comply with New Jersey’s laws, and we expect compliance with our subpoenas. Any organization that fails to comply may be dissolved and face other penalties.”

Under the agreement, Trump for America Inc. will cease to exist; will pay a penalty of $30,000, with $27,500 suspended; and will submit a registration statement and additional documents to the Division of Consumer Affairs. The agreement preserves the division’s ability to further investigate other misconduct by Trump for America Inc. beyond its failure to register with the division as a charitable organization.

The agreement also resolves a dispute between the division and KCH & Associates LLC, which the division alleges provided paid fundraising assistance to Trump for America Inc. without registering with the division as a fundraising counsel or independent paid fundraiser, then failed to comply with a related subpoena. KCH & Associates will file a registration statement with the division; pay a penalty of $30,000, with $27,500 suspended; and produce records responsive to the division’s subpoena.

The agreement comes as Grewal and the Division of Consumer Affairs announced a temporary Voluntary Compliance Program to encourage 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations such as Trump for America Inc. to come into compliance with New Jersey’s requirements that they register as charitable organizations with the division. The Voluntary Compliance Program runs through Oct. 1.

“Ensuring compliance with New Jersey’s charities laws is an essential part of the division’s mission,” said Paul R. Rodríguez, the division's acting director. “We take this responsibility seriously and, as this case shows, we will hold organizations accountable for failures to comply with legal requirements designed to protect donors and the public.”

Trump for America Inc. was established as a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization created for the purpose of soliciting and receiving contributions to help finance and assist Donald J. Trump in the presidential transition process, officials said.

The organization — originally named Trump Transition Project Inc. — was incorporated in New Jersey in June 2016. Trump for America Inc. raised significant contributions from New Jersey residents and held at least one fundraising event in New Jersey, according to public reports. The division’s court filings also describe payments from Trump for America Inc. to KCH & Associates and Cam Henderson of Morristown, in connection with fundraising activities.

In February 2019, the division subpoenaed Trump for America Inc. and KCH & Associates after determining that Trump for America Inc. had not registered with the division as a charitable organization under New Jersey’s Charitable Registration and Investigation Act and that KCH & Associates had not registered as a fundraising counsel, independent paid fundraiser, or related entity.

Grewal and the division filed a lawsuit to enforce the subpoenas in January 2020, after Trump for America Inc. claimed that it was required neither to register as a charitable organization with the division nor to comply with the subpoena, and asserted that a confidentiality agreement prohibited KCH & Associates from producing documents to the division.

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