A California judge has ruled that the longtime advertising campaign used by Kars4Kids violated the state’s False Advertising Law, ordering the charity to stop broadcasting the commercials in their current form beginning June 8.

The ruling was issued by an Orange County Superior Court judge and specifically targets the nonprofit’s well-known commercials featuring the familiar “1-877-Kars4Kids” jingle, which for years became a recognizable part of radio and television advertising and a recurring subject of pop-culture humor.

The case was brought by an Orange County resident who claimed he donated a vehicle under the impression that the charity’s proceeds were helping disadvantaged children throughout the United States.

According to the court’s decision, the advertisements gave donors the impression that the organization broadly supported needy children, while most of the funds raised were actually directed to another nonprofit that supported Orthodox Jewish youth programs in New York, New Jersey, and the Middle East.

Legal analyst Neama Rahmani said the central issue in the case involved how the organization presented its charitable mission to the public.

“When you’re running ads with young kids and the funds are going to older kids in another state and maybe even another country that’s a problem,” he said.

Anthony Graham, the attorney representing the plaintiff, said the legal burden required proving that the organization intentionally misled the public.

“We have to show that they knowingly and intentionally misled the public and it’s not an easy thing to do, but we did it,” he said.

Kars4Kids strongly disputed the ruling and announced plans to appeal. In a written statement, the organization described the court’s decision as “deeply flawed” and argued that its website openly identifies the group as a Jewish organization.

“We believe this case was nothing more than a lawyer-driven attempt to siphon off charitable funds for their own gain. We expect to win on appeal because the law and the facts are clearly on our side,” said Wendy Kirwan, the organization’s communications director.

The charity is also facing a separate federal class-action lawsuit that attorneys say could expose the organization to massive financial liability.

“You have to be looking at least ($400 million) to $500 million,” Graham said.

Legal observers say the ruling could bring additional attention from government authorities. According to experts following the case, if regulators or prosecutors decide to become involved, executives connected to Kars4Kids could potentially face criminal investigations as well.

{Matzav.com}