Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson is suing the man who organized this year's "LoziLu" mud races as fundraisers to fight cancer, saying he has violated charity and consumer protection laws.
The action targets Frederick Bradley Kellogg and a Minnesota company called Fresh New Taste LLC that were running women-only obstacle mud races around the country.
The Star Tribune reported last month about the trouble with the LoziLu races, and how Kellogg and his past businesses have racked up more than 60 unpaid judgments over the years and owe at least $2.6 million.
He's currently serving 20 years' probation for a 2012 conviction of felony theft by swindle involving a now defunct wild rice company.
Kellogg, 62, bought LoziLu in December 2014. He has actively marketed the races as a way to "help kiddos with cancer have a future of fun," filling its marketing with generic messages and images about helping fight cancer and specific references to a small Wisconsin cancer charity called Leukemia Ironman Fundraiser for Eric, or LIFE.
However, he hasn't paid anything to the tiny nonprofit this year, and has ignored the charity's requests to stop using its name.
Kellogg began canceling the mud runs last summer, triggering a wave of complaints from runners.
"It was very clear to us that people were motivated to participate in the runs because they believed their fee would support the fight against cancer," Swanson said Friday.