Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced on Wednesday that a preliminary injunction was issued against Michael Peppel and his sham charity, Ohio Clean Water Fund, who stole thousands of dollars after pretending to raise money for East Palestine residents in the wake of the disastrous February 3rd train derailment.
Yost claimed in his initial lawsuit and request for a temporary restraining order that Peppel, a resident of Leetonia, and other individuals had pocketed at least $131,000 of the approximately $141,000 collected from more than 3,000 donors to allegedly help the community of East Palestine.
The February 3rd Norfolk Southern train derailment due to an overheated wheel bearing, which resulted in the release of poisonous chemicals into the environment, drastically changed the lives of locals.
The railroad vented and burned the vinyl chloride found in five derailed cars to stop an explosion requiring the evacuation of hundreds of residents and negatively impacting the environment and residents’ health.
Yost claims that Peppel’s Ohio Clean Water Fund used text messages to solicit donations for bottled water and announced a partnership with the Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley.
According to Yost, he intends to ensure that this sham charity is shut down for exploiting a disaster situation and that Peppel is held accountable.
“This scam capitalized on a disaster and took advantage of good-hearted givers. I’m still fuming about it, and we’re going to hold him accountable,” Yost said.
Representatives from the Second Harvest Food Bank reportedly complained to Yost’s office and claimed it hadn’t given the go-ahead for a relationship with Peppel.
Second Harvest Food Bank allegedly confronted Peppel twice to tell him to stop advertising the non-existent partnership. To date, only after Second Harvest Food Bank called him out, Peppel has paid only $10,000 to the food bank, a mere 7 percent of what Peppel admits he raised.
In a March Facebook post, the food bank encouraged people who want to help to donate to them directly.
The preliminary injunction issued in the Columbiana County Court of Common Pleas:
- Requires Ohio Clean Water Fund, Peppel, and anyone else working with them to remain in compliance with the court’s temporary restraining order pending the final outcome of this action.
- Protects remaining funds by requiring Ohio Clean Water Fund within 21 days to disburse the remaining money, $20,321.91 to Ohio Clean Water Fund’s legal counsel for holding in escrow pending the final outcome of the action.
- Requires Peppel to pay $25,000 to his legal counsel within 21 days for holding in escrow pending the final outcome of the court action.
Yost cautioned individuals against trying to make money from the tragedy in East Palestine.
“Here’s a message for anybody else who might hope to profit from the situation in East Palestine: Don’t even think about it,” Yost said.
Norfolk Southern has removed 36,518 tons of waste soil and more than 14.5 million gallons of contaminants and contaminated liquid. Norfolk Southern has completed the South Track soil removal and replacement and has removed the North Track. Excavation is ongoing.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Dave Yost” by Dave Yost.
