State sues rural charity alleging fraud

Attorney General Lori Swanson says the alleged scam promised good returns but didn't deliver. One family invested all it had-$52,000-with the Ashmore Foundation.

Rod Thompson recalls pitch men sitting in his home and assuring him and his family that the investment was a "no brainer" that would earn hefty returns.

"It turned out to be a sour deal," said Thompson, 44, of West Fargo.

The Minnesota attorney general calls the deal fraudulent and said Thompson and his son, Nathan, were among people ripped off by a rural charity that contributed little if anything to charitable causes.

The Ashmore Family Foundation lured people to lend or otherwise contribute money by assuring them they would earn returns of as much as 72 percent, Attorney General Lori Swanson said Tuesday in a civil lawsuit against the charity.

The foundation made only one minor charitable contribution-$1,000 to a gymnastics club-and instead accumulated money for investment on foreign exchange markets, according to the suit.

"They approached me and said it was a no-brainer investment," said Thompson, a former general manager of a firm that sold trailers."It took everything."

A principal of the charity Tuesday denied any wrongdoing. "We're not scam artists," said Monte Ashmore of Ulen, Minn., who said the foundation is behind on its payments to only one investor. He declined to elaborate.

But Swanson said as many as 20 people may have been defrauded by the charity. Some of the alleged victims, including Thompson, had business connections with foundation trustees.

She said the pitch appealed to victims "because they need the money. And who wouldn't want to get high interest at low risk, particularly when you're dealing with people who are perhaps a bit financially squeezed anyway, who are kind of living paycheck to paycheck."

The Ashmore Foundation is run by Ashmore and his brothers Flint, Pepper, Trevor and Desi. They have paid themselves more than $130,000 in trustee fees since 2004, during a period when they fraudulently persuaded people to invest, loan or donate more than $400,000, the suit said.

Thompson said the investment was suggested to him by a son of Monte Ashmore, who worked with him. Thompson said he gave the foundation $40,000 after a meeting he, his wife and son had at their home with Flint and Monte Ashmore. At the meeting, the Ashmores said the foundation planned to build a horse-riding facility for needy kids in Ulen. They also promised the Thompsons returns of 5 percent a month.

Thompson said the $40,000 was their entire savings at the time, according to the suit.

Nathan, now 19, put in another $12,000 that he had earned since he was 11 years old. Rod Thompson said his son earned the money mowing lawns, shoveling snow, delivering papers and from savings.

The Thompson family later received $15,000 from the foundation, leaving them $37,000 short.

Swanson said the matter had been referred to county and federal authorities for review for possible criminal charges.