Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced a multistate action against a Florida-based nonprofit that has been accused of misleading donors across the U.S.

The accusations suggest the company misleads how the donations will be used. 

The action is part of a nationwide crackdown on sham veterans' charities. 

Help the Vets, also operated under American Disabled Veterans Foundation and Military Families of America, claimed donations would be used to provide medical care to wounded veterans. Investigators found that these programs largely didn't exist and that any benefit to veterans was "merely incidental." 

Investigators found the company reportedly collected more than $11 million from donors in Ohio and other states between 2014 and 2016 but used less than five percent of it on charitable programming. Instead, the vast majority of funds went to its founder and paid fundraisers.

Under an action by Attorney General DeWine, the Federal Trade Commission, and other attorney generals, the organization will no longer be able to solicit donations.

DeWine says the company will release its remaining funds to be distributed to other charities. The founder, Neil G. Paulson Sr., will pay $1.75 million to be used for charitable contributions.

Attorney General DeWine says, "There are many organizations in Ohio and across the U.S. that do great work to help veterans and service members. Unfortunately, there are some groups that only pretend to do this kind of work. We want people to know the difference. Sham charities drain away money and resources that could be used by honest, legitimate organizations."