Alana Goodman of the Washington Free Beacon reports on an interesting development in the world of dark-money political operations.
A left-wing dark-money group targeting Elon Musk has been suspended from operating in California and several other states after it failed to file required details about its finances, according to records reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon.
The North Fund, a nonprofit group that has been using the alias “Accountable Tech” to organize a corporate boycott against Musk’s Twitter bid, is “not in good standing and is prohibited from engaging in conduct for which registration is required, including soliciting or disbursing charitable funds,” according to a delinquency notice sent in January to the group by California attorney general Rob Bonta (D.). Bonta said the group must file required financial disclosure records to be reinstated.
The North Fund’s charitable standing is also expired or revoked in 12 other states, according to government records. These states include Wisconsin, where the fund has been using the trade name “Opportunity Wisconsin” to run millions of dollars in attack ads against Sen. Ron Johnson (R.).
Legal experts said the North Fund could face fines and other penalties if it raises money in those jurisdictions. In California, delinquent groups “may not operate or solicit donations in California,” according to the Office of the Attorney General.
“There are about 39 states that require charities, and, in some cases including Section 501(c)(4) funds like the North Fund, to register with the state before they could solicit or otherwise conduct activities in the state,” Charles Watkins, a nonprofit attorney at Webster, Chamberlain, & Bean and former counsel for the Internal Revenue Service, told the Free Beacon. “So even if the North Fund wasn’t actually doing anything in California, they couldn’t even solicit people in California by mail or email, for example.”
