A judge in California ruled that the Kars4Kids jingle is false advertising.
You might think that the Kars4Kids charity is a donation for underprivileged kids. It’s not. It exists to fund a Jewish non-profit group called Oorah that organizes Jewish summer camps and gap year trips to Israel for teenagers.
The court ruling came after a California man donated his Volvo thinking he was helping unfortunate children in California.
Esti Landau, COO of Kars4Kids, told the court that “the primary function of Kars4Kids is to fund Oorah, an organization dedicated to Jewish heritage and summer camps in New York and New Jersey” and that “while 25% of revenue is derived from California, Kars4Kids has no functional programs in California beyond a ‘backpack giveaway.’”
Kars4Kids showed IRS forms showing that in 2022 Kars4Kids maintained $199 million in set-aside assets, $34 million in liquid assets and spent $16.5 million to purchase a building in Israel with the purpose of growing “the Israel program.”
According to court documents, “Ms. Landau explicitly testified that the organization’s primary purpose is not to help economically disadvantaged children.” She admitted that even though the organization exists to help “Jewish kids and families throughout their lives,” consumers wouldn’t know unless they visit the website.
The court ruled that the organization was guilty of “fraudulent omissions.”
“The message that the charity helps “needy” children is not “inherently vague.” In the context of a charitable appeal, “needy” implies socio-economic disadvantage. Using funds for “gap year” trips to Israel for 17-18-year-olds or a $16.5 million real estate acquisition contradicts the “needy child” persona cultivated by the ad.”
In essence, Kars4Jews to go to summer camp doesn’t have the same emotional appeal.
The post Judge Rules That Kars4Kids Is A Scam appeared first on Redacted.
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