Virginia Youth Club: Scam or legitimate charity?
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| Kids on a Virginia Youth Club trip to King’s Dominion. [Virginia Youth Club] |
The following article on the investigation of a door-to-door solicitation group by Leanne and Austin Wright was originally published by the Braddock Buzz.
Mom, you just got scammed.
That was the reaction of one Fairfax County high schooler after hearing her mom’s interaction with the solicitor who’d knocked on the front door.
The solicitor was from the Virginia Youth Club, which recruits teenagers from low-income areas, often in Maryland, to go door-to-door in affluent neighborhoods selling candy or branded merchandise, though sometimes the teens just ask for donations or scholarship money.
“I actually gave because I felt bad that I was questioning her so much about the club, and I thought of how hard it would be to knock on people’s doors asking for donations,” said the mom, who asked to be identified only as a resident of the Long Branch area of Fairfax County.
She added, “In the future, I will not be donating.”
In emails to Braddock Buzz, posts on neighborhood Listservs, and complaints filed with the police, Fairfax County residents described similar encounters that left them feeling concerned and perplexed – wondering if they were scammed, wondering if young teens should be going around unsupervised in unfamiliar neighborhoods.
Most of all, they’ve wondered who’s actually benefiting – the kids themselves, or adults?
A Braddock Buzz investigation has uncovered previously unreported information about the Virginia Youth Club that could shed light on these questions – and help Fairfax residents make more informed decisions the next time the group is out soliciting in their neighborhoods.
A forged letter
When going door-to-door, the teenage recruits often carry letters, printed on Fairfax County letterhead, saying the group is registered with the state and authorized to solicit donations.
County officials believe this letter has been “altered” to look like it was issued in 2019, when in fact it expired in 2018, according to records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. [See the letter here.]
“We have exempted this organization in the past, but they are currently not registered with this office,” Carl Newcomb, a regulation and licensing official with the county, said in an October email to police. “The letter they are showing has been altered. A real exemption letter would have a 2020 date and the expiration date of the letter in boldface in the body of the letter.”
The county official whose signature is on the letter, Henri Stein McCartney, changed jobs in February 2018 and thus couldn’t have signed a letter dated May 2019, as McCartney stated in a July email to colleagues. “They are now making their own county letters,” McCartney wrote.
Braddock Buzz spoke briefly by phone with the Virginia Youth Club’s top executive, Jule Huston, who referred questions to Public Affairs Director Nathan Jackson. Huston and Jackson are both based in New York but travel frequently to Maryland and Northern Virginia to manage their charities.
“That’s an old letter,” Jackson said in an interview, explaining that he didn’t know who altered it or how it ended up in the hands of Virginia Youth Club recruits. “That letter should not be used.”
He followed up in an email: “I cannot address whoever was using a doctored document in Fairfax. I am praying that it is not anyone currently involved with our charity.”
State investigation
As their legal justification for denying a separate FOIA request from Braddock Buzz, state officials disclosed for the first time that the Virginia Youth Club is under active investigation by the Office of Charitable and Regulatory Programs, which is part of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS).
Furthermore, the group is no longer registered to solicit donations in the state.
“As of this moment, it is an accurate statement that the Virginia Youth Club is not currently registered with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) pursuant to the requirements under the Virginia Solicitation of Contributions law,” said Michael Menefee, a program manager with the Charitable and Regulatory Programs office. “Based on the VDACS’ response to your earlier FOIA request, there is an active investigation.”
State officials declined to provide additional details about the investigation.
Jackson said he was unaware of the probe and blamed his organization’s lapsed registration on the Covid-19 pandemic—a charge state officials reject.
“Our state registration is a little tardy because of the pandemic,” Jackson said. “There’s nobody working in government right now. But everything is legit, completely.”
Informed of Jackson’s comments, VDACS spokesperson Michael Wallace said the current average time to process a charitable solicitation registration is eight to 12 business days, adding: “The Office of Charitable and Regulatory Programs continues its responsiveness to the public and to charities.”
For his part, Jackson noted this isn’t the first time his group has been investigated – and expressed confidence the state would find no wrongdoing.
“We were investigated by the FBI four years ago,” he said. “We were investigated by the state of Virginia the year after that. Every time it goes through, there’s nothing. We’ve got books. You can look at our records.”
He strongly objected to characterizations of his organization as a “scam.”
“Some unfiled paperwork does not put us in the realm of a scam,” he said. “That is a most detestable charge and it endangers the hope for our teens. … We’ve made mistakes but we are not a fraud or a scam. Nobody is getting rich here and the majority of the teens love the program. We’re catching up with our paperwork and will [be] corporately sound within weeks.”
Door-to-door during a pandemic
The Virginia Youth Club’s approach has caused concern among Fairfax County residents, according to internal police emails obtained through FOIA.
Some have taken issue with solicitors continuing to knock on doors during a pandemic, when public health officials are urging people to practice social distancing.
“We’ve had teens knocking on our doors for the last four or so hours .tonight,” one resident wrote in a November email to the Fairfax County Police Department. The resident said the teen who came to his door was wearing a mask improperly so that it didn’t cover his nose. “He was within three feet of me at my door, and it was plain he didn’t want to be doing this.”
The resident added: “I think them going door-to-door is a health risk during a pandemic. They’re risking their lives and ours by doing this. We have multiple people in our house that are high risk.”
A Herndon resident filed a complaint with the county in October saying she donated $5 to the group but had quickly come to regret it.
“I asked some questions as to why they were knocking on doors during a pandemic, and they said they were masked,” the Herndon resident wrote. “I asked his age and what school he went to. I was mad to hear that he was from Maryland.”
“Anyway,” the resident continued, “I let him keep the $5. I am more mad at myself for exposing myself to someone who I do not know and do not know where they come from during COVID.”
A statement on the Virginia Youth Club website says the group requires its teen solicitors to wear face shields and rubber gloves and carry alcohol-based hand sanitizers. In addition, the statement says, “The vehicle that they will travel in will be thoroughly disinfected twice per day and the teens will have their temperatures taken before they are allowed into the vehicle.”
Jackson elaborated in his interview with Braddock Buzz.
“We make sure that the kids have full safety,” he said. “We go to great lengths to make sure they’re covered at all times, that there is adequate supervision, they have cell phones, GPS trackers, we have people that kind of patrol in the area so that we always know where they are at all times. We’ve been doing this a lot of years.”
The group recruits teens ages 14-17 by posting fliers in low-income neighborhoods.
“The kids call and we interview them and if they’re up to standards and their parents sign the parent consent form, then we train them,” Jackson said.
He added that he believes some of the scrutiny his group receives for soliciting in affluent, and mostly white, neighborhoods is due to sincere concern for the wellbeing of the teenagers—but that some was also due to racism.
“A lot of times, it’s really good people who have concerns,” he said. “And sometimes it’s just racist.”
On its website, the group says it “provides inner-city teenagers with part-time jobs and fundraising opportunities in local, residential neighborhoods.”
“We are a club for boys and girls who never joined a scouting troop,” the site continues. “Our members are good kids who, because of their cultural influences, require a different ‘flavor’ that is appealing to their ethnic palates.”
The group’s finances – revenues
The Virginia Youth Club’s 2019 federal tax filing lists its primary purpose as “to rescue teens.”
The document says the group brought in $67,133 that year, all of which came from “sales of inventory.” No revenue was attributed to contributions or gifts even though the solicitors sometimes have nothing to sell and are simply asking for donations or scholarship money, according to the emails and police complaints reviewed by Braddock Buzz.
Asked about the inconsistency, Jackson said Virginia Youth Club recruits should never just ask for donations; they should always be selling a product. Teens who just ask for money, he said, might be impersonating his group and pocketing the cash.
“We try our best to give people a product for whatever they donate to us,” he said. “Here’s the deal: There are a lot of people out there who want to do what we do, who are not us but think they are. And they have no paperwork, or bogus paperwork.”
“Some of these kids just go out on their own afterwards and say they’re with a charity and they’re not,” he continued. “If you can avoid overhead and all the documents that we have to file and the accountants and attorneys that we use – it’s a good hustle. You’re pulling on people’s heartstrings to make a few bucks, and it works.”
The group’s finances – expenditures
On the other side of the ledger, the tax filing shows the group had $63,732 in expenses in 2019, broken down into these categories:
- Salaries, compensation, & benefits – $16,000
- Professional fees & other payments to independent contractors – $13,850
- Occupancy, rent, utilities & maintenance – $5,580
- Printing, publications, postage & shipping – $4,413
- Activities & trips – $6,991
- Auto & gas – $3,952
- Insurance – $3,724
- Web – $2,991
- Telephone – $3,870
- Office – $2,361
The “occupancy, rent, utilities, & maintenance” line item may refer to the office suite that the group lists as its physical address – 11350 Random Hills Road, Suite 800, near the Fair Oaks Mall.
The group compensates its teenage solicitors and their adult supervisors, and these funds may come from the $13,850 line item titled “professional fees & other payments to independent contractors.”
Jackson said the teens are paid for going door-to-door at a rate of $2 per item sold, plus bonuses, with their supervisors getting $2.50. All items are priced at $10. “They always make at least minimum wage,” Jackson explained.
He also said the 11 percent of the group’s budget attributed to “activities & trips” goes toward enriching experiences such as trips to the movies, amusement parks, baseball games, and other activities. “We take them on lots of outings,” Jackson said. “We try to get the kids who fell through the cracks, you know? Sometimes the schools can’t do it, their parents can’t do it, and they’re not going to church. We take them to places they wouldn’t normally go.”
A section of the Virginia Youth Club website titled “Giving Back” says the group gave a $1,000 grant to a student at Virginia Commonwealth University, though it doesn’t specify when. The website also features a photo of packs of school supplies that were donated to children in need, among other photos of service activities.
The group’s tax filing shows that a quarter of its annual budget – the largest line item at $16,000 – goes toward the salary for Huston, its top executive.
A national network
Huston and Jackson either lead or have ties to similar groups in a number of states, including the Maryland Youth Club, the New York Youth Club, the Long Island Youth Club, the Carolina Youth Club, and the Georgia Peach Youth Club.
Some of these groups have a history of run-ins with the law and state regulators, dating at least as far back as 2010, when Huston himself, then 26 years old, was charged with 11 counts of child endangerment. Police said they found members of the New York Youth Club as young as 12 outside in sub-freezing temperatures, unsupervised, as the Long Island Press reported at the time.
Jackson said the charges against Huston were later dropped – and attributed them to racism.
“Nassau County, frankly, is a bit racist, especially the police,” he said. “They hit him with every charge in the world, put him on TV and everything else. This guy comes from a family of cops. He got real disturbed, as we all did, because they really made it ugly – they put his booking photo on TV. When he got to court, they just dropped it. They dropped every single charge and begged him not to sue.”
More recently, in October 2020, the Long Island Youth Club came under scrutiny for allegedly allowing a 13-year-old to go door-to-door selling candy unsupervised, the East Hampton Star reported.
In 2018, two men were charged with endangering the welfare of children for sending 10 kids – members of the New York Youth Club ages 11 to 16 – to sell candy unsupervised in unfamiliar neighborhoods, CBS New York reported.
Also in 2018, South Carolina Secretary of State Mark Hammond filed an enforcement action against the Carolina Youth Club to prevent it from soliciting donations in the state, Count on News 2 reported, because the group had failed to file its 2016 annual financial report and had been cited and fined for violating the state’s child labor laws.
“The Carolina Youth Club has demonstrated blatant disregard for the law,” Hammond said at the time. “Without the filings required under the Solicitation of Charitable Funds Act, we have no way of knowing whether the children who are ‘club members’ are benefiting from this organization’s charitable purpose, and neither does the donor.”
The Fairfax County Police Department declined to comment for this story but encouraged community members to call the department’s non-emergency number, 703-691-2131, to report any suspicious activity.
I saw them yesterday in the neighborhoods off of Sleepy Hollow Rd in the vicinity of Bent Branch Rd/Oakwood Dr. These kids seem to come through the area every year usually in the spring/summer so I was surprised to see them in winter. Anyway….this "charity' sounds fishy as hell. Scam alert!
Good reporting work. These young people need legitimate internship, summer work/recreation programs. Imagine being a 14 year-old (and one also imagines there are those younger, who say they are 14) sent door to door in strange neighborhoods, trying to meet a quota. So bad for them on so many levels. What can be done for them?
M Reinsdorf
It is unbelievably dangerous to these young people to send them into wealthy neighborhoods right now, between the pandemic and the tendency of people on NextDoor to post hysterically about any unfamiliar person (particular young men of color) knocking on their door. If it’s a legit charity and just a paperwork mistake, it’s still an ill-advised fundraiser. If it’s a scam it’s risky on about six dozen different levels.
Why are Maryland teens doing this for a Virginia organization?
1/9/2021 – Fairfax, VA youth came to my door this afternoon and had a letter from Fairfax County dated May 2019. I asked him why it was so old and which high school he is attending? He said he attends Eastern HS in DC. I did not donate & told him I would donate directly to the school. I also feel sorry for these kids going door to door during a pandemic. Who is benefitting?
I just had a young lady here this evening. This should not be happening. I notified Fairfax County police. I live in Centreville, VA
I just had two young VYC volunteers knock on my door collecting donations. They appeared very legit, so I gave them a personal check for $35. After they left I looked up and read the story above and immediately called my bank and put a Stop Payment on the check. The bank told me to carefully monitor my account for any unusual transactions, even for a few cents, since my check has the account and routing number printed on it. Ugh. I wish I’d been more careful.
I ALMOST pulled out my phone to cash-app these people but hesitated and handed over a $10. So, yes, I did get scammed…but at least they didn’t rip me for more than that.
Thanks for this article…I’ll know for the next time.
I am floored reading these comments. I am a hard working 2 parent home parent of one of these kids. To see how judgemental and racist all of your comments are is disgusting… these African American children do not have the same Silver Spoon opportunities that your Virginia students have and the fact that the Virginia youth club is bringing a program that allow these kids to be able to go outside of their neighborhoods that they might not be able to afford to see and shed light on that experience because they should have the same opportunities as your children! So no it is not a scam it is a gateway for our children that do not have it to be able to not go out and not beg for it but to actually show them there is a way to work for it and going door to door because they’re too young to drive so I need you guys to wake up and stop looking at color and what environment someone comes from and start working as a Humane Society and be a community.
I’m not going to disagree with you on the racism in the comments, because if that’s how you perceive them, so be it. But door to door soliciting is both annoying to people, and historically used for scam and fraud, so people can’t help but recognize a pattern and associate this with that…
Thanks for sharing your perspective since your kid is involved and happy with the program!
I started my first neighborhood business at 10 years old. At 12 and 13, I was a soccer and basketball referee for little kids. At 14 I was doing landscaping -meaning bringing logs from fallen trees up hills after my boss cut them up. At 15 I got a work permit and started working in restaurants. And I worked in a factory, a department store, as a lifeguard, and even a cutco salesman. Not once did it ever occur to me to go door to door begging for money. Here’s an idea… teach kids to get jobs.
I love the comment that says „teach kids to get jobs”. Mine, as teenagers, bused tables in restaurants, worked as grocery packers in large grocery stores, helped out after school at the vet for minimum wage, and did babysitting. There are legitimate jobs young teens can with dignity, but going door-to-door asking for donations is not one of them.
I’m so upset reading this article recently my two teenager got recruited for Long Island youth club they have been left in areas like central islip in the cold for hours untill they reach a quota of 10 sales with poor cellphone service they couldn’t even call me or text me if they wanted too. This is not a racist situation my children are white and in the van there are children as young as 11 going foot to door selling this man’s candy and other items. Recently I’ve been looking into this myself because my neighbors children worked for the same Huston man 5 years ago in Freeport New York and told me to be careful that one of the young girls were forcefully touched and money situation was a scam so I’m doing my own research I see that the same man has done this in multiple states and now he is doing it again on Long Island . To any parent it does seem legit at first he has paperwork legit Instagram account Facebook account but I can tell you from my experience with my own two teenagers this is not a good situation at all. Maybe at first yes he does do all these fun things with the teens but then all of a sudden it stops and nobody hears from this man again this is not a legit non profit organization and it’s currently under investigation again and I think it’s sick that because this man comes from a family of cops he keeps getting away with trafficking children and charity fraud and child endangerment. So like I said these teens are not all black they are from all different races so it’s definitely not a racist situation it’s definitely due to him being in a cop family and that’s why he keeps getting away with what he’s doing. I’m disgusted by all of this
Wow I can’t believe this non sense Ive worked for this guy for over 4 years from age 13 to 17 years old this was my best job as a kid. My mom worked a lot so we didn’t get to go to amusement parks and cool fun trips and I got a chance to make my own money so I could have snack money in school and could buy the sneakers and clothes my mom couldn’t afford.I even won a $1000 college grant when I was 16. I’m 24 years old and have a great career now but so grateful of this program. I still have younger family members that also currently participate with this program and I have never heard any of them speak negatively. Jen you have the wrong guy with your research Mr. Huston has done so much for kids through the years we did so much fun stuff as kids words can’t explain. I’ve personally witnessed kids be giving hats, gloves, hand warmers and toe warmers to make sure kids are comfortable. Its been days the kids wanted to work but Mr. Huston cancelled due to the weather because it wasn’t safe. Those days we would literally do activities such as skating, movies, indoor water parks etc.. just to keep the program together so we could still have fun in the winter and OMG SUMMERS WERE THE BEST we did so much out door events and kids won prizes cell phones gift cards and made money. 4 years and I have never felt uncomfortable my sisters even did the same job when we were younger they didn’t do as well so they quit because sales just wasn’t for them. Regarding sales quota he explains to kids you have to reach a certain sales quota so you’re making money with program and qualifying for activities and so it’s worth your time being out there. For example I would come home with alot of money but my sister didn’t if I wasn’t doing the program my mom would have thought he was ripping us off not realizing she just wasn’t good at job or played on her phone all day instead of working no kid goes home to tell there parents that part. Regarding cold I literally watched him tell kids to go back inside to get a coat or had extra coats in back for kids because I think he realized there parents couldn’t afford to buy them one. Hats and gloves he supplied and hand warmers in the summer he Gave us youth club t-shirts. Being an adult now I see why he went the extra length because his neck was on the line being responsible for those kids I’m sure that’s why he went above and beyond as a parent now I get it but I’m sure these parents know it’s a out door job why didn’t they send there kids out dressed properly? I see kids all the time walking to school with shorts on in winter why aren’t those parents be held accountable? Jen did you make sure your kids were dressed properly and did he provide your kids with gloves and hats as an option just curious. Did your kids work long enough to even experience the activities? Were your kids or did your kids witness anyone uncomfortable or being forcefully touched or is that just what your heard from someone else? You said from your experience with your 2 teens this is not a good situation but did your teens express this to you or is this an assumption off of what you heard from a friend and read on the internet? Mr. Huston I had a awesome experience working in the program and we need more role models for our youth Mr. Huston had a better relationship with teens then what kids have with there teachers because he knew each kid individually and knew what the program meant to each kid he worked with thanks for the great experience and job you’ve done in community.
This is sad and most of the other programs have been closed down not due to the state closing down the program but due to the headache and frustration that comes with running a charity. Most of the posting are old news this was a concept and a program that was suppose to give youth a opportunity to better themselves and alternative to stay busy earn a honest dollar, develop communication skills, meet new friends, do things and activities that maybe their parents didn’t have time for or just could afford the way Mr. Huston parents or other kids had to deal with in life. I personally did this job as a kid and so did Mr. Huston because we went door to door as kids. The chance to earn our own money to buy school clothes sneakers for first day of school things I know my parents couldnt afford was amazing and a blessed opportunity I had looking back. So many kids have done this program some kids went off to be great salesman at car dealerships or door to door salesman with Verizon or terminating companies some have chosen life of crime and ended up in jail selling drugs at the same end of day the program was just a opportunity what you use it for if needed at a point in life is up to you. Mr. Huston coming from a family police officers has nothing to do with why he has gotten away maybe because things that are printed or on internet are just not true. It’s sad we live in a Society where if it’s on the internet it has to be true. Mr . Huston at a point in his life was one of those kids going door to door and did well as kid and was one of the best sellers in the program and loved doing that job because i was out there also with him. I personally know the impact he’s had in kids lives I still have friends 20 years later that I still comunícate with because of the great laughs and stories we had in that van as kids now grown with families. Some of my nephews and nieces works in this program in Long Island which he runs and changed many kids lives. Regarding things in other states I can’t speak on I’m sure he’s had vision to create great programs every where but maybe things didn’t work out without his presence but this slander is rediculous. My nieces and nephews still do this program and some of those social media pages you see on the program social media page my family members are in. They did many activities with the program one in particular was when they did a over night activity and was so excited about the fancy hotel they stayed at and the next morning going to mountain creek which is a water park in Vernon New Jersey and the great news is no one came home saying they felt uncomfortable or was trafficked. They were so excited you would have thought they went to Disney land. They have come home talking about how their friends have won thousand dollar grants and they hope they win one day. I ask my nephews and nieces one morning did they need money for food quickly they responded no the program pays for our food which was surprising since as kids we paid for our own. It’s been times when they have been fundraising and there battery died so the program gave them work phones they can use or the times he’s giving them hat and gloves to use with hand warmers and still does for free just so there as comfortable as possible when fundraising. Mr . Huston I wish your program the best and many blessings your the Girl or Boy Scouts to these youth who aren’t born with a silver spoon in there mouth. Thanks for all the great memories you created in these kids lives and hope this can shed light on my personal experience with program and not what people are assuming because of what they read on internet. I can’t wait for my 7 year old to be old enough to do the program it will be a great learning experience for him.