DENVER – A Denver man who runs a Denver nonprofit that provides clothing to the city’s homeless population was charged with eight felony counts Monday, including charitable fraud and theft, according to a spokeswoman with the Denver District Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors believe 47-year-old Travis Singhaus, who also goes by the name Travis Smith, stole grant funds totaling $349,000 from another Denver nonprofit by using another local charity’s EIN number to claim his LLC, Impact Network, had 501(c)(3) charitable status, a news release from the Denver District Attorney’s Office states.
Singhaus is also accused of fraudulently using other charities’ tax-exempt numbers to avoid paying taxes on purchases he made, the release states.
The Denver DA said Monday Singhaus has never registered any of his entities with the Colorado Secretary of State or with the Internal Revenue Service nor has Singhaus obtained charitable or tax-exempt status with the IRS or the State of Colorado.
“In addition, Singhaus is accused of recently setting up a GoFundMe.org page to solicit donations for Impact Locally and Impact Humanity. GoFundMe has since terminated Singhaus’ donation page,” the release states.
Singhaus was charged Monday with the following: theft, three counts of charitable fraud – unathorized use of a name, forgery, and three counts of criminal impersonation.
He was taken into custody at Denver International Airport Sunday upon returning from an overseas trip by agents with the Department of Homeland Security and Denver police officers, according to the news release.
His clothing bank, Impact Locally, has previously been featured on Denver7. In November of last year, Singhaus told Denver7 he was forced to shut down the clothing back due to repeated break-ins.
The District Attorney’s Office advised people to check a charity’s state and federal standing here and here before donating money to them.
An advisement hearing has not been scheduled.