Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox has filed suit to shut down the Save A Child Foundation, Inc., a Flint, MI charity run by executive director, Bernhard D. Christenson, Jr.
Christenson collected millions of dollars from donors through national telemarketing campaigns, as well as thousands through coin canisters and vehicle donations, according to Cox. “This organization has pulled in big money and claimed to be saving kids’ lives through its suicide intervention program,” he said in a statement. “In fact, a lot of the charity’s money went into Christenson’s pocket, and the crisis hotline is a threat to young, vulnerable persons.”
Cox alleges that Christenson abused his position of control over the charity and illegally reaped compensation of over $300,000 in a 3-year period, while falsely claiming to be volunteering his services and subsidizing the charity with his own money.
Christenson represented to the public and government agencies prominent professionals in the Flint area were active as directors of the organization. According to a statement from Cox, Christenson actively misled or did not inform would-be board members of questionable activities that were carried on in the name of the charity.
False claims were also made about the staffing and operation of Save A Child’s “TeenTalk” crisis hotline, said Cox’s statement. It continued that Christenson’s one-man cell phone operation of a suicide intervention program lacked established rescue procedures, creating a risk of harm to any potentially-suicidal teen callers. The hotline activity violated Michigan law, which requires a masters or doctoral degree and a license to practice counseling, which Christenson does not possess, said the statement.
The 104 page, 28 count complaint was been filed in Ingham County Circuit Court. The next scheduled action on the case will be on October 6th.
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