Judge Suspends Solicitations by Fund-Raiser

Mitchell Gold, defendant in one of the largest charity fraud cases in state history, has been ordered by an Orange County Superior Court judge to stop soliciting charitable donations in California until he has accounted for a portion of the millions of dollars he has raised since 1988.

Judge Robert A. Knox on Tuesday granted the state attorney general’s office a preliminary injunction against Gold and two Irvine fund-raising organizations that he owns, Orange County Charitable Services and North American Funding Corps., as well as American Veterans Assistance Corp., a charity that Gold allegedly also controls.

Deputy Atty. Gen. H. Chester Horn Jr. said the defendants have until Dec. 29 to complete an accounting of an estimated $3 million to $6 million that was raised in telephone solicitations with the promise it would be used for specific programs, such as to grant the last wishes of dying veterans.

Ralph Shelton, Gold’s lawyer, said Knox agreed to delay the effective date of the injunction until Oct. 29 to give his client time to appeal certain aspects of the action to the 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana.