A Paulding County mother accused of improperly running an infant abandonment charity for her own gain told an Atlanta judge she never intended to profit from it and is willing to dispose of its assets under the state’s direction.
Sarah Koeppen, the founder of defunct nonprofit The Hope Box, was ordered Wednesday to give up its assets including a Kia SUV, a MacBook computer, an Apple watch and office equipment and supplies as well as any donations.
She was accused by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger of failing to honor the agreement she made in June 2023 with his office, which enforces the state’s charitable organization laws. The agreement ended Koeppen’s nonprofit and barred her from serving as an officer, director, principal or control person of any charity in Georgia.
In a videoconference hearing on Wednesday, Koeppen told Fulton County Superior Court Judge Belinda Edwards she had been trying to properly end The Hope Box in compliance with the agreement, and had been waiting a year for further guidance from the Georgia Attorney General’s Office.
“I don’t think anybody starts a nonprofit to make money,” Koeppen told the judge. “I made a little bit as an employee towards the end.”
Koeppen said she started The Hope Box after a 3-year-old boy was abandoned with her and became her son. She said the charity helped train Georgia law enforcement on the state’s “Safe Haven” law and steer parents toward resources such as Medicaid.
Raffensperger’s November 2024 lawsuit against Koeppen and her charity accused Koeppen of spending tens of thousands of dollars in charitable donations on herself and her family. It alleged that personal expenses unwittingly paid for by donors in Georgia and elsewhere included meals, travel, cosmetic services and wedding flowers and photographers.
Koeppen denied misappropriating funds.
She agreed in June 2023 to dissolve The Hope Box and dispose of its assets in accordance with Georgia’s Charitable Solicitation Act. On Wednesday, she said she received a “sit still” instruction in January 2024 from staff in the Georgia Attorney General’s Office, who didn’t approve of the charities she intended to give The Hope Box assets to, including MUST Ministries.
“They said ‘Do not donate anything, sit still,’” Koeppen said. “I was hoping to be done with this a year ago. I’m willing to donate all that stuff. I’m not trying to keep anything; I would like to wrap this up and finalize this.”
Koeppen said The Hope Box had one bank account, which hasn’t had any money in it for a year. She said she hasn’t received any funds from the book she wrote, published by The Hope Box and for sale on Amazon.
Her attorney, Michael Familetti, said Koeppen is willing to comply with the 2023 agreement under direction from the state about where The Hope Box assets should go.
“We’re not playing games,” he said. “We’re not hiding stuff.”
Two senior employees in the charities division of Raffensperger’s office testified Wednesday that Koeppen continued to solicit and accept donations for The Hope Box after agreeing in June 2023 not to. They said Koeppen also started soliciting donations for a charity called Haven, which has the same mission, website, phone number and Cobb County address as The Hope Box.
Lynn Mckeel, an attorney who leads the enforcement of Georgia’s charity laws, said various website and bank records show Koeppen is controlling Haven, which isn’t a registered charity in Georgia. Mckeel said she hadn’t found any records showing Haven is a legitimate charity “in any capacity.”
Koeppen said she only volunteers a few hours a week for Haven, a national organization based in South Carolina.
The judge granted Raffensperger’s request to enforce the June 2023 agreement, in part requiring Koeppen and The Hope Box to refund some donations and hand over contributions received after June 2023.
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