An organization raked in $141,000 but “pocketed” nearly all of that amount instead of using it to help East Palestine, Ohio, residents struggling with toxic fumes and contaminated water after a train derailment and fire, the state’s top law official says.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed a lawsuit alleging that a Leetonia, Ohio, man named Mike Peppel has solicited donations to a nonprofit organization that he founded last month but diverted the money away from its intended purpose.