Attorney General's News Release

November 14, 2007

Defendant who placed fake collection boxes in Joplin area ordered to donate $500 to Special Olympics Missouri

Joplin, Mo. — The last of three men who faced charges they placed fake collection boxes for Special Olympics at retailers in the Joplin area in 2005 was ordered today to make a donation of $500 to Special Olympics Missouri. Darrell Winters, who was sued by Attorney General Jay Nixon in January 2006, also must pay $2,000 to the Attorney General’s Office for the costs of investigating and bringing the lawsuit and cannot solicit funds in Missouri without meeting all requirements under state law.

Winters was one of three men to face either criminal charges or civil litigation from Nixon for placing the donation boxes in retail stores on the pretense of collecting money for Special Olympics but then not turning any of the money collected over to the charity.

“It is unfortunate that there are those who try to take advantage of Missourians’ generosity by soliciting donations for charity and then pocketing the money for themselves,” Nixon said. “Missourians have always been very supportive of the good work done by Special Olympics Missouri, and I am happy that these cases directly resulted in court orders that $1,000 be donated to that charitable organization.”

“On behalf of the 14,000 athletes of Special Olympics Missouri, I would like to thank the Attorney General’s Office for taking this matter seriously,” said Mark Musso, President and CEO of Special Olympics Missouri. “We rely on donations to run our year-round program, and we appreciate the good work people are doing to support us.”

In June 2007, Darrell Winters’ brother, Robert L. Winters, was sentenced to four years in prison after being found guilty of two counts of unlawful merchandising practices in connection with the scheme. Those charges were brought jointly by Nixon and Jasper County Prosecuting Attorney Dean Dankelson. A third man, Robert Bowman, entered into a court-approved settlement in October 2006 in which he also was ordered to donate $500 to Special Olympics of Missouri and pay $1,000 for the Attorney General’s costs in bringing the case.

Nixon’s office learned of the scheme in December 2005 from the state office of Special Olympics Missouri. Investigators from the Joplin Police Department assisted investigators with the Attorney General’s Office with the case.

Darrell Winters faces a $10,000 suspended penalty if he does not comply with the court order entered by Jasper County Circuit Judge David Dally requiring him to make the payments, follow state requirements on charitable solicitations, and have the express permission of any charity to raise funds for it.

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