Attorney General Andrew Cuomo today announced an investigation into car-donation charities after a review found fraudulent practices that deceived donors and diverted funds from those in need. As a result of the investigation, the attorney general's office filed a lawsuit seeking to shut down one charity for misusing money meant for the homeless. It subpoenaed 16 charities, fundraisers and individuals.

The lawsuit charges that Nicholas Cascone Jr., director of Feed the Hungry Inc., solicited vehicle donations that were supposed to fund humanitarian causes but then kept the proceeds. Of the more than $430,000 that FTH received in donations between 2002 and 2009, the investigation found that less than $7,900 was used for charitable purposes.

"Nicholas Cascone and his Feed the Hungry organization promised to use donated vehicles to help the homeless but only ended up taking generous New Yorkers for a ride," Cuomo said in a statement announcing the investigation. "We remain concerned that similar practices may prevail in other organizations and will diligently work to root out any other sham charities. As we continue working to clean up this industry, we encourage generous New Yorkers to stay informed and to keep donating to worthy charities."

Charities involved in the car-donation industry solicit contributions in the form of used vehicles, which are then sold to raise funds for humanitarian causes. The AG's review has shown that some charities mislead donors about how much money is used for charitable purposes, as well as where the money goes. In some cases, the car-donation charity is a complete sham, with little or no money going to the causes the charity purports to support.

The lawsuit charges that Cascone and FTH intentionally made false representations about FTH in order to trick people into donating their vehicles. For example, the charity's own Web site included false claims about the number of meals for the hungry that FTH had funded. The Web site, www.feedthehungryinc.org, was taken down when FTH learned of the attorney general's investigation.

The lawsuit also charges Cascone with failing to provide even the most basic corporate and financial oversight of charitable assets. Further, during the attorney general's investigation, Cascone invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 150 times and refused to answer simple questions about whether FTH took any steps to prevent charitable funds from being spent on personal items.

The lawsuit seeks to:

• Freeze FTH's assets and permanently bar further charitable solicitations by FTH;

• Obtain a full accounting of FTH's and Cascone's current and former assets and hold Cascone liable for restitution and damages;

• Prevent Cascone from serving as an officer or director of any not-for-profit in the future;

• Permanently dissolve FTH and dedicate any remaining assets to charitable uses that are actually consistent with the stated mission of FTH.

The lawsuit against FTH and Cascone can be found at www.ag.ny.gov.