'Margarita Madness' all dried up

CONCORD — A California-based corporation enticed road race enthusiasts to sign up for an event that would reward them with margaritas while raising money for a charitable cause. The events never took place, the corporation didn’t refund entry fees, and a Merrimack County Superior Court judge has now issued a judgement that bars the Worldwide Push Foundation from operating in New Hampshire.

A press release issued by the NH Attorney General Office on Tuesday said that Worldwide Push Foundation, a corporation headquartered in California, began promoting a “Margarita Madness 5K” on social media in 2019. The original postings described a road race on the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, “Where you get to celebrate with Margaritas,” and which would benefit a scholarship managed by the WWPF.

However, the WWPF’s status as a charitable entity had been revoked by the IRS in May 2019, the AG's office said. Further, WWPF never obtained the needed permits and licenses to put on the event, which was supposed to happen on Oct. 12, 2019. As that date approached, WWPF notified registrants that the event would instead be held at a park in Northfield, yet the runners and walkers were then told that the 5K was postponed, and didn’t grant requests to refund fees.

WWPF got back on social media toward the end of 2019 to start pushing “Margarita Madness 5K” races that would take place on July 11, 2020, in Concord, and in Northfield on Oct. 24, 2020.

No limes were harmed on either date, though, because no margaritas were consumed after neither race took place. That didn’t stop WWPF from collecting more than $30,000 in registration fees, the AG's office said in the statement.

Responding to the failed 2019 races, the Director of Charitable Trusts issued a letter to WWPF in December 2019, requiring the corporation to return entry fees, cease advertising future races, and register with the Charitable Trust. The letter was ignored.

On July 10, 2020, the state held a civil enforcement action, bringing nine violations of the Consumer Protection Act as well as charitable trust laws, against WWPF. As a result of the Merrimack County Superior Court judgement, WWPF is prohibited from advertising, organizing, soliciting or accepting fees for any event in the state until it is registered with the Charitable Trust. The judgement also requires that WWPF refund race registration fees.

Anyone who registered for a “Margarita Madness 5K” event, and has not had their fee refunded, should file a complaint at: www.doj.nh.gov/consumer/complaints/index.htm.