FeganScott Files Class Action Against First Love Ministries

FeganScott filed a class action lawsuit against Illinois-based non-profit, First Love International Ministries, and its partner, Loving InDeed, under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, claiming the organization stripped Kenyan children from their homes to create “profit orphanages,” designed to attract donations from well-meaning contributors and voluntourists.

The complaint alleges that First Love built a rich but deceptive tapestry of children in need, claiming Kenyan children are in hopeless situations and have been “orphaned through AIDS, disease, violence, or simply been abandoned by their parents.” However, according to the complaint, First Love utilizes a practice condemned as orphanage trafficking, where recruiters target poor Kenyan families, offering to educate their children at a boarding school with the promise of a better life.

First Love and its network of similar corporations, such as Loving InDeed and other children’s homes, keep the children at their homes for years without promoting or ensuring family reunification. They then use the children’s likenesses and presence to increase donations from churches and donors.

The suit attempts to hold First Love for RICO Act violations including raising money to enrich themselves or their organization through activities that violate international norms and Kenyan standards, exploiting children, misleading voluntourists and donors, and harassing and threatening class members from reporting or disclosing allegations.

Read more here.