Tennessee – Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced today that his office has filed a lawsuit in Davidson County Chancery Court seeking the judicial dissolution of the National Foundation for Transplants, Inc., a Memphis-based nonprofit organization that raised funds for organ transplant patients. The lawsuit follows a months-long investigation into NFT’s fundraising practices and its management of patient donations.
NFT, which announced in April 2024 that it would cease operations due to financial difficulties, has been under scrutiny after the Attorney General’s Office received 47 complaints from patients and donors. Some of these complaints were referred by the Tennessee Secretary of State’s Division of Business and Charitable Organizations following NFT’s closure announcement. Concerns were also raised regarding how NFT handled donor-restricted funds in its dissolution plan.
“Our investigation revealed troubling discrepancies between how NFT represented its services to vulnerable transplant patients and how it actually managed donations,” said Attorney General Skrmetti. “When a nonprofit organization solicits charitable contributions by telling donors their money will benefit specific transplant patients, those representations must be truthful and accurate. We are all grateful for the many Tennessee non-profits who serve our communities with selflessness and integrity, but organizations that betray the public trust will be held accountable.”…