DES MOINES, Iowa – A door-to-door sales organization that claimed to raise money for the Animal Rescue League and Blank Children’s Hospital has agreed to stop doing business in Iowa, Attorney General Tom Miller announced.
In April and May 2021, the Attorney General’s Office received complaints that door-to-door solicitors from Inner City Solutions, a Georgia-based corporation, canvassed the Des Moines metro and surrounding areas. Representatives for the company sold items such as toys and pet supplies, claiming the proceeds would benefit the local charities.
In reality, Inner City Solutions did not have an affiliation to the charities and kept the solicited funds for themselves, according to an assurance of voluntary compliance between the AG’s Office and its owner, Gerald L. Sanders.
Sanders and the company denied they misled contributors or violated the law, but they agreed to permanently cease door-to-door sales and solicitations for alleged charitable purposes in Iowa.
“This agreement puts a stop to Inner City Solutions’ business in Iowa, and ends the company’s claims it raises funds for local charities close to the hearts of many Iowans,” Miller said.
In addition to allegations that Inner City Solutions misrepresented its relationship with local charities, the agreement claims the company failed to obtain peddler permits, register with the Attorney General’s Office or otherwise comply with state and local laws regulating door-to-door sales and charitable solicitations.
Inner City Solutions failed to comply with the Door-to-Door Sales Act by neglecting to provide consumers with a written three-day notice of their right to cancel the transactions or oral instructions of their right to cancel, according to the agreement.
Sanders is an actor and rapper who goes by the moniker “Strike” and has appeared in films such as “8 Mile.”
Read the assurance of voluntary compliance below:
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