Kansas City nonprofit shut down after scamming members out of at least $40,000
A Jackson County judge banned a Kansas City woman and her employees from operating a nonprofit charity after scamming people out of tens of thousands of dollars, after leading donors to believe donations would be used to build homes that were never built, according to a ruling filed last month in Jackson County Circuit Court.
In a ruling filed Nov. 22, Jackson County Circuit Court Judge John Torrence ordered Alice Goodlow to pay $42,932 in restitution, as well as more than $10,000 in fees and penalties, according to court documents.
Goodlow started Vinelanders Community Land Trust and asked members to donate money for building or purchasing homes for members. Between 2017 and 2019, the nonprofit took in more than $40,000 in membership fees, according to tax records. The members submitted those funds on the understanding that it would be used to build homes.
They weren’t.
Goodlow, “admitted none of the solicited funds were ever used or invested toward providing a home to any of the members, and the funds were used exclusively to cover the operating expenses of the Vinelanders Trust,” the ruling said.
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office filed the lawsuit against Goodlow and Vinelanders Community Land Trust in January 2020 after receiving three complaints. The complaints said consumers paid $3,700 for homes they never received, court records show.
The ruling has banned Goodlow from operating organizations that sell or manage real estate or any charitable organization.
This story was originally published December 9, 2021 at 12:16 PM.
