Vietnam Veterans Charity Dissolved After 'Egregious Fraud'

The Rockford charity called VietNow National Headquarters Inc. raised more than $15 million during the past 10 years with appeals to help veterans racked by joblessness and post-traumatic stress disorder.

But more than 80 percent of those donations were kept by for-profit telemarketers, records show, and much of the rest was used for administrative costs.

Now that lucrative fundraising machine is being shut down.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan on Monday announced a settlement led by Illinois and 23 other states to dissolve VietNow, which also goes under the name VeteransNow. The charity is being forced to stop operations, and its remaining assets will be distributed to two legitimate charities, according to Madigan and court records.