Ohio Code 1716.99 – Penalty
(A) Whoever violates any provision of sections 1716.02 to 1716.17 of the Revised Code, other than division (A)(1) of section 1716.14 of the Revised Code, is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.
Attorney's Note
Under the Ohio Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Felony of the second degree | 2 years or more | up to $15,000 |
| Felony of the third degree | 9 months to 5 years | up to $10,000 |
| Felony of the fourth degree | 6 to 18 months | up to $5,000 |
| Felony of the fifth degree | 6 to 12 months | up to $2,500 |
| Misdemeanor of the first degree | up to 180 days | up to $1,000 |
Terms Used In Ohio Code 1716.99
- Bond: includes an undertaking. See Ohio Code 1.02
- Contribution: means the promise, pledge, or grant of any money or property, financial assistance, or any other thing of value in response to a solicitation. See Ohio Code 1716.01
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- Fund-raising counsel: means any person who, for compensation, plans, manages, advises, consults, or prepares material for or with respect to the solicitation in this state of contributions for any charitable organization or at any time has custody of contributions from a solicitation, but does not solicit contributions and does not employ, procure, or otherwise engage any compensated person to solicit contributions. See Ohio Code 1716.01
- Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Professional solicitor: means any person who, for compensation, performs on behalf of or for the benefit of a charitable organization any service in connection with which contributions are or will be solicited in this state by the compensated person or by any person it employs, procures, or otherwise engages directly or indirectly to solicit contributions. See Ohio Code 1716.01
- solicitation: includes but is not limited to the following methods of requesting or securing the promise, pledge, or grant of money, property, financial assistance, or any other thing of value:
(a) Any oral or written request;
(b) Making any announcement to the press, on radio or television, by telephone or telegraph, or by any other communication device concerning an appeal or campaign by or for any charitable organization or for any charitable purpose;
(c) Distributing, circulating, posting, or publishing any handbill, written advertisement, or other publication that directly or by implication seeks to obtain any contribution;
(d) Selling or offering or attempting to sell any advertisement, advertising space, book, card, tag, coupon, chance, device, magazine, membership, merchandise, subscription, sponsorship, flower, ticket, admission, candy, cookies, or other tangible item, or any right of any description in connection with which an appeal is made for any charitable organization or charitable purpose, or when the name of any charitable organization is used or referred to in any such appeal as an inducement or reason for making the sale, or when in connection with the sale or offer or attempt to sell, any statement is made that all or part of the proceeds from the sale will be used for any charitable purpose or will benefit any charitable organization. See Ohio Code 1716.01
- state: means the state of Ohio. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Whoever: includes all persons, natural and artificial; partners; principals, agents, and employees; and all officials, public or private. See Ohio Code 1.02
Each occurrence of a solicitation of a contribution from any person in violation of any provision of sections 1716.02 to 1716.17 of the Revised Code, other than division (A)(1) of section 1716.14 of the Revised Code, is considered a separate offense.
(B)(1) Whoever violates division (A)(1) of section 1716.14 of the Revised Code is guilty of solicitation fraud and shall be punished as provided in divisions (B)(2) to (4) of this section.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in division (B)(4) of this section, division (B)(3) of this section applies to solicitation fraud, and solicitation fraud is one of the following:
(a) Except as otherwise provided in divisions (B)(2)(b) to (d) of this section, a misdemeanor of the first degree or, if the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a theft offense or a violation of division (A)(1) of section 1716.14 of the Revised Code, a felony of the fifth degree.
(b) If the value of the contribution or contributions made in the violation is one thousand dollars or more but less than seven thousand five hundred dollars, a felony of the fifth degree or, if the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a theft offense or a violation of division (A)(1) of section 1716.14 of the Revised Code, a felony of the fourth degree.
(c) If the value of the contribution or contributions made in the violation is seven thousand five hundred dollars or more but less than one hundred fifty thousand dollars, a felony of the fourth degree or, if the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a theft offense or a violation of division (A)(1) of section 1716.14 of the Revised Code, a felony of the third degree.
(d) If the value of the contribution or contributions made in the violation is one hundred fifty thousand dollars or more, a felony of the third degree.
(3) When an offender commits a series of offenses in violation of division (A)(1) of section 1716.14 of the Revised Code as part of a common scheme or plan to defraud multiple victims, all of the offenses may be tried as a single offense. If the offenses are tried as a single offense, the value of the contributions for purposes of determining the value as required by division (B)(2) of this section is the aggregate value of all contributions involved in all offenses in the common scheme or plan to defraud multiple victims. In prosecuting a single offense under this division, it is not necessary to separately allege and prove each offense in the series. Rather, it is sufficient to allege and prove that the offender, within a given span of time, committed one or more offenses as part of a common scheme or plan to defraud multiple victims as described in this division.
(4) If the victim of the offense is an elderly person or disabled adult, division (B)(4) of this section and section 2913.61 of the Revised Code apply to solicitation fraud, and solicitation fraud is one of the following:
(a) Except as otherwise provided in divisions (B)(4)(b) to (d) of this section, a felony of the fifth degree;
(b) If the value of the contributions made in the violation is one thousand dollars or more and is less than seven thousand five hundred dollars, a felony of the fourth degree;
(c) If the value of the contributions made in the violation is seven thousand five hundred dollars or more and is less than thirty-seven thousand five hundred dollars, a felony of the third degree;
(d) If the value of the contributions made in the violation is thirty-seven thousand five hundred dollars or more, a felony of the second degree.
(C) Any person who is found guilty of any act or omission prohibited under this chapter shall forfeit the bond described in section 1716.05 or 1716.07 of the Revised Code to the state treasury to the credit of the charitable law fund established under section 109.32 of the Revised Code and shall be prohibited from registering with the attorney general or from serving as a fund-raising counsel or professional solicitor in this state for a period of five years after conviction.
Last updated March 17, 2023 at 10:46 AM