Month: June 2019

Former U.S. Rep. Jan Meyers, R-3rd Dist., died on June 21, 2019.

Meyers served in Congress from 1985 to 1997. Prior to that, she was in the Kansas Senate from 1972 to 1984.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly ordered flags to be flown at half-staff on Monday, June 24, at the Kansas State Capitol in honor of former Congresswoman Meyers, who was the first Republican woman elected to the U.S. House from Kansas.

Rep. Meyers, 90, was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, and graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1951. She also attended William Woods College in Fulton, Missouri.

Working from 1951 until 1954 as an advertising and public relations assistant at a radio station in Omaha and a department store in Lincoln, Nebraska, Meyers later moved to the Kansas City area, where she served as a city councilwoman from 1967 to 1972 in Overland Park, Kansas. She was a state senator from 1972 until 1984.

In 1984 she was elected to Congress, and from 1995 to 1997 she was the chairwoman of the U.S. House Committee on Small Business.

“I was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Congresswoman Jan Meyers, whom I respected and admired,” Gov. Kelly stated. “As the first Republican woman elected to the U.S. House from Kansas, she was a groundbreaking public servant in many ways, and a role model for all.

“Her dedication to Kansas as a member of Congress will be forever remembered,” the governor stated. “Lt. Governor Lynn Rogers and I, along with our families, extend our heartfelt condolences to Congresswoman Meyers’ family.”

U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, released the following statement after the death of former Congresswoman Jan Meyers:

“Congresswoman Meyers was a trusted colleague, but most importantly a friend. I always looked up to Jan and depended on her advice and counsel during my time serving alongside her in Congress,” Sen. Roberts stated. “As the first Republican woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Kansas, she set a great example for future generations. She was kind, caring, honest and extremely well respected in not only the 3rd District, but the entire state. Franki and I are praying for the entire Meyers family during this difficult time.”

Cancer centers across the country will share $2.5 million recovered in a multistate enforcement action against sham cancer charities, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced.

The $2.5 million was recovered through settlements of a landmark lawsuit against four affiliated sham charities – the Cancer Fund of America, Inc., The Breast Cancer Society, Inc., Cancer Support Services, Inc., and the Children’s Cancer Fund of America – and their founder James Reynolds and other individuals, according to the attorney general’s office.

The settlements put in place a receiver who seized and liquidated all available corporate and personal assets. The people responsible for fronting the false charities are all banned from any charity or fundraising activities for the rest of their lives.

This distribution marks the conclusion of the lawsuit, brought by Kansas and other plaintiffs in May 2015. The suit was the first time that all 50 States, the District of Columbia and the Federal Trade Commission joined together to shut down sham charities.

The complaint alleged that the so-called charities, led by James Reynolds and his family members, bilked the public out of more than $187 million dollars in donations between 2008 and 2012. Most of the money collected was paid to professional fundraisers or squandered by the defendants. Of the money the defendants collected, only 3 percent was directed to cancer patients in the United States in the form of “care packages” containing religious DVDs, Moon Pies, random items of clothing, and various sundries.

Cancer Fund of American also claimed to supply patients with pain medications and transportation to chemotherapy treatments, but in fact it provided no such services. The charities also participated in a “gift-in-kind” program in which they sent drugs that had nothing to do with cancer to other countries. The complaint alleged that the purpose of this program was to make the organizations appear larger than they were and to hide their high fundraising costs.

The complaint also alleged that the leaders of these sham charities used donated funds to pay themselves exorbitant salaries and to go on trips to destinations like Thailand, Las Vegas and Disneyworld. The Reynolds also bought themselves cars, boats, jet skis and houses and used the charities’ credit cards to buy designer handbags, jewelry and clothing and to pay for day-to-day expenses such as gas, groceries and utility bills.

The money will be transferred to Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA) who, under a services agreement with the plaintiffs, will distribute the funds to select health and medical programs targeting breast and pediatric cancer. Eligibility will be determined through an invitation-only application process, and is limited to NCI-designated Cancer Care Centers, a designation bestowed by the National Cancer Institute on institutions and programs recognized for their scientific leadership, resources, and the depth and breadth of their research.

As an NCI-designated Cancer Center as of 2012, the University of Kansas Cancer Center will be eligible to apply for funds.

“Because only limited funds could be recovered, it is impractical to return the money to its donors,” Schmidt said. “Therefore, it was agreed by the states and the federal government that the best option available is to carry out the donor’s wishes to support cancer services by providing these funds to bona fide cancer centers.”

The case was Federal Trade Commission, et al. v. Cancer Fund of America, Inc., et al., Civil Action No. 2:15-cv-00884-NVW in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. A copy of the order approving the fund distribution plan is available at https://bit.ly/2x3d4vA.