SLOAN RACHMUTH’S RETALIATION COSTS NC TAXPAYERS

SLOAN RACHMUTH’S RETALIATION COSTS NC TAXPAYERS
By: Kelly R. Wiggen, Sept. 06, 2022
The NC Secretary of State’s office has been allotted a budget of $16,680,407 for fiscal years ’21-’22, and $17,472,391 for ’22-’23 according to the Office of State Budget and Management. More specifically, the Charitable Solicitation Licensing division has been allotted $691,818 for ’21-’22, and $691,818 for ’22-’23.  Of course, that budget is bestowing money provided by the taxpayers of NC.  In Feb of 2021 the UNC School of Government Blog by Shea Denning, reported that the NC Judicial Branch received a total of $578 million in taxpayer funding.  When taxpayer funded agencies are abused by false reports and complaints, it typically costs the taxpayers, not the abuser. Jennifer Sloan Rachmuth, President of Education First Alliance (both the non-profit and the PAC) and Pen & Shield Project, has filed several complaints with the NC Sec of State and in the judicial system, in what appears to be an effort to silence and retaliate against critics, that contained known false information or had no grounds, and the taxpayers of NC paid for wasting the resources of those agencies.
     In the spring of 2021 Rachmuth began a series of false claims in the judicial system of Wake County against Mrs. Kari Donovan, apparently as retaliation against Mrs. Donovan for reporting suspicious activities involving Rachmuth’s business practices to authorities. Those activities involved not having a proper license and the possibility of false advertising for certain events or false claims of working with a legitimate non-profit. Following those reports, Rachmuth began a long process of filing criminal charges and a lawsuit against Donovan, all of which were tossed out by the courts, which not only cost Donovan, but wasted taxpayer funding for the judicial system as well. In addition to these actions, Rachmuth also threatened to sue Donovan’s employer, if Donovan wasn’t fired, which she has continued to do in 2022 and typically includes claims of anti-Semitism against Donovan who is a Messianic Jew. Accusations of anti-Semitism are frequently claimed by Rachmuth across multiple platforms against many people and groups. 
     In June of 2022 the Honey Badger Tribe owner, author, Kelly Wiggen, (Rachmuth requested Wiggen to join her new PAC in Feb) aired a video showing problematic and likely illegal issues with the business filings of Rachmuth’s organizations, which included dually operating a NC registered nonprofit and FEC registered PAC as one entity for donations, in violation of the Johnson Amendment on allowed political activities of a nonprofit. Before airing the video, Wiggen filed a good faith complaint to the NC Sec of State about these activities and included the verifiable evidence. In addition to those issues, Rachmuth is also operating both NC registered nonprofits without a valid Solicitation License. Education First Alliance Inc. had a license that expired on 5/15/2022, and Pen & Shield Project was denied a license by the NC Sec of State on 9/8/2021 yet is still soliciting donations on the website. HBT has reached out to the IRS to verify the tax-exempt status but has not yet received a reply. When searching the IRS database available online, neither entity can be found listed as an IRS registered tax-exempt organization.
     In what has become a pattern documented by many in NC, Rachmuth began her assault on HBT with threats and defamation for exposing these details and included another organization that some members of HBT are also members of, NCC4CR.  In what appears to be another effort to intimidate and silence these former supporters turned critics, Rachmuth submitted complaints with false information to the NC Sec of State. A total of three complaints have been submitted against NCC4CR (2) and Honey Badger Tribe (1), containing verifiably false information. While NCC4CR is handling the complaint through an attorney, the complaint against HBT was handled and closed within a few days. When asked for an update for the complaint submitted on 6/07/2022 against Education First Alliance, CSL said they will provide an update when the investigation is complete.  HBT will report once that update has been received, along with any updated information from the IRS.
     These instances appear to show that Mrs. Rachmuth has wasted taxpayer funding to government agencies in her failed attempts at retaliation against those that question or criticize her. In addition to these examples, it cannot be overlooked at her use of an associate named Tracey Hall Ovitt. While it has been recently removed, there were previous reviews posted on the EFA Facebook page dating back for months with people reporting that Tracey Ovitt would be deployed to cyberstalk, defame & harass any critics on behalf of Mrs. Rachmuth. NCC4CR and Honey Badger Tribe have also documented these behaviors and Ms. Ovitt has stated in writing more than once that she does so on behalf of Mrs. Rachmuth, which has now led to at least seven criminal charges in six different counties. In all but one case, Ms. Ovitt has requested & been granted a public defender and all cases have required more than one appearance due to requesting a continuance.  Mysteriously someone is paying for a private defense attorney for the charges against Ms. Ovitt in Rutherford County and a source has come forward stating that she has bragged about a woman covering the cost. Ovitt was recently found guilty of charges in one county which is now in the appeals process.  There is no doubt that Mrs. Rachmuth is utilizing and working with Ms. Ovitt as many times they have been documented interacting on social media and Ms. Ovitt has included Mrs. Rachmuth on numerous emails to government officials containing false allegations.
     Wasting the resources of the NC Sec of State’s office and the judicial system with unfounded claims by Rachmuth is now costing the taxpayers of NC untold amounts as she apparently uses these tools to attack and silence those that question, criticize or expose her.  In concurrence with these activities, Rachmuth is connected to the North Carolina GOP and is actively endorsing Republican candidates running for House, Senate, and local Boards of Education. While several candidates have distanced themselves (removed from the endorsements list) from such activities, currently many remain. This includes Sen Ralph Hise, Sen Warren Daniel, Sen Norm Sanderson and Pastor Neal Jackson running for NC House District 78 although they have been made aware of these activities.  The endorsements by Rachmuth’s organization can be seen here.  Candidates have been asked to comment or reply on this situation but have so far chosen to remain silent which appears as a “hopefully this just goes away” tactic. 
HBT Newsroom will continue to report on this situation as developments occur and if any additional information is received.  ​

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