Shut Down Sought

State sues Bemus Point veterans charity

Testimony from two former board members of Healing for Heroes are among the exhibits entered into evidence by the state Attorney General's Office in its attempt to close the charity.

Joshua Larsen and Lisa Borbe both filed affidavits in the case. Attorney General Letitia James filed court action Wednesday in state Supreme Court in Erie County accusing the organization of defrauding donors and running a scheme to enrich its leadership and associates while claiming to help veterans.

Healing for Heroes billed itself as an outdoor retreat for disabled veterans, but since its founding in 2024, the organization has only hosted four retreats, all of which served only board members and their friends and family – essentially using the charity to fund their own vacations. An investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found that the owners of Healing for Heroes' 30-acre property, Board President Thomas Nelsen and Jennifer Milchanoski-Nelsen, board secretary and treasurer, rented out the property on Airbnb on at least 32 different occasions in 2024 and 2025, claiming all proceeds would go to their charity. Instead, the couple allegedly kept the $33,312.16 proceeds from the rentals for themselves. The Attorney General's office investigation also found that almost half of the nearly $100,000 donated to the organization was spent on property maintenance and improvements, such as a bathroom renovation and a new deck for the property, as well as personal shopping, meals, vehicle repair and gas expenses for board members.

James is seeking a court order to dissolve the organization and distribute its assets to charities that actually honor Healing for Heroes' stated mission. James is also asking the court to bar the Nelsens from soliciting money or serving in leadership positions for any other New York-based charity. James also asks the court to recoup damages from the Nelsens and impose civil penalties for violations of the FAIR Business Practices Act.

"Our veterans have sacrificed so much for this country, and they deserve real supportive services when they return to civilian life," James said. "Healing for Heroes exploited veterans' service and betrayed the trust of their donors, including local community members, veterans' organizations, and businesses to enrich themselves and their friends. My office has no tolerance for charities that use noble causes to scam New Yorkers out of their hard-earned money.”

TESTIMONY FROM FORMER BOARD MEMBERS

Larsen, a Jamestown resident, said he served on the board from October 2024 through February 2025 after Brobe sent a message inviting Larsen to join the board. Larsen is the founder of Primitive Patriot Outdoors, a non-profit that raises money to send disabled veterans on dream hunting trips. Among Larsen’s efforts are the Hero’s Hunt, Hunting for the Homeless and a hunting television show seen on Roku TV Channel 716. Larsen said he joined the board of Healing for Heroes and made a $250 donation that represented the proceeds from a television show premiere event. Larsen was asked to set up the Healing for Heroes website and Facebook page, reach out to Larsen’s personal and professional network of people to seek donations or volunteers, help fundraise and do electrical work at Paradise Lodge. Larsen also detailed donations being received from local companies and fundraisers. Among the issues Larsen and Borbe raised were irregular board meeting schedules, minutes not being distributed to board members for approval or review, and no financial statements. Larsen said he questioned why the charity wasn’t registered as a 501(c)(3) or registered with the Office of the New York State Attorney General’s Charities Bureau when fundraising started. Larsen also said he found out in January 2025 that Paradise Lodge was being used as an Airbnb with no board vote.

“During my five months as a Healing for Heroes board member, I witnessed volunteers donate their time as well as Tom accept monetary donations, free supplies, materials and furniture, all to fix up Paradise Lodge and the surrounding property,” Larsen testified. “Renovating Paradise Lodge personally benefitted Tom and Jennifer as they are the co-owners of the property. I witnessed no veterans being provided with a ‘free retreat-style stay’ at Paradise Lodge. Furthermore, Healing for Heroes did not engage in any outreach to recruit veterans to participate in a ‘free retreat-style stay’ at Paradise Lodge.”

Borbe, an Ohio resident, gave similar testimony regarding board minutes, donations received, lack of bylaw or an accountant to maintain records and lack of veterans being offered retreats.

“Due to my own personal family issues, after one year of being a Healing for Heroes’ board member, I resigned in May of 2024,” Borbe testified in her affidavit. “I believe the court should compel Healing for Heroes, Thomas Nelsen and Jennifer Nelsen to abide by the law and either run a proper charity that keeps accurate financial statements and supports veterans by offering the retreat-style stays on the property as indicated in their mission or shut down the organization.”

TESTIMONY FROM HEALING FOR HEROES

The court filing indicates the Nelsens and their attorney, Jennifer Aronson of Hodgson Russ LLP in Rochester were notified of the proposed litigation in late July and were given 10 days to show why the proceeding should not be filed.

While the record does not show a response to the Attorney General's letter, Tom Nelsen was deposed by the state Attorney General's Office in December. Nelsen said the organization had to shift from veteran’s retreats to day programs because it couldn’t afford the retreats.

Healing for Heroes claimed to provide a free, retreat-style stay designed to help support disabled veterans on a 30-acre wooded property in Bemus Point. James alleges that Healing for Heroes failed to deliver on its core promise of providing veterans with the experience of a healing retreat. Only four retreats were held in 2024 and 2025, which were exclusively attended by Healing for Heroes board members and their family and friends. On at least one occasion, when veterans who did not have a close relationship with the Nelsens expressed interest in a retreat, they were turned away before they could apply. The Nelsens later claimed the retreats were "unaffordable" and moved to events built around food donated by local businesses, such as "Free Pizza & Fire Night" and "Coffee and Donuts."

“Shifting to day programs, because we needed to generate buzz,” Nelsen said. “We needed to get veterans connected. So when we put information out for the retreats, not getting as much feedback back, involvement, as doing day programs or specific events. So, being able to do veteran outreach. Again, might I remind you that we’re very new. We’re a fledgling not-for-profit. We’re trying to cut our teeth, we’re trying to grow. We’re trying to figure out how we best connect with veterans. How we get the participation, how we can connect them to us and doing the day programs is a much cheaper way of doing that.”

The Nelsens began renting the property on Airbnb promising customers that all of the rental funds would go to the charity. They rented the property on at least 32 occasions and deposited $33,312.16 into their personal account. James alleges tens of thousands of dollars were used to renovate the Nelsens' personal property and pay for meals, shopping trips and gas for the Nelsens and board members.

The charity's fundraising efforts that targeted the local community and established veterans groups hinged on the claim that 100% of proceeds went to provide veterans with a healing retreat when the money was instead used to enhance the Nelsens' own lifestyle, James alleges. This fundraising took place without a functioning board of directors, and with no stated conflicts of interest policy. The Nelsens allegedly failed to document significant donations of labor, expertise and materials used to improve the property as required by law. They also failed to report the donations of several vehicles including multiple ATVs and an SUV. Cash and Venmo donations were also improperly documented and deposited in the Nelsens' personal accounts rather than the charity's. “The monies taken in by our Airbnb listing goes directly to helping offset the extreme financial burden of high yearly operations at Healing for Heroes, a Disabled Retreat and Wooded Oasis Incorporated,” Nelsen said in response to a question before saying a couple of minutes later, “The process is anything taken in from Airbnb, which in the — which in the beginning was very small and still is, relatively, anything that comes in goes directly towards funding the operations cost of Healing for Heroes. So operations cost, meaning, the property, the taxes, the mortgage, taxes, utilities."

STATE ALLEGATIONS

James alleges that Healing for Heroes and its leaders violated New York's charity and anti-fraud laws by soliciting donations illegally, defrauding donors by failing to fulfill their stated mission, failing to register as a charitable organization, and failing to maintain their books and records. James also alleges that the organization and its leaders conducted deceptive business practices and false advertising.

Attorney General James is asking the court to dissolve the organization and distribute its assets to charities that provide disabled veterans with therapeutic retreats, as well as to bar the Nelsens from soliciting funds for or serving in leadership for any other New York-based charity. Attorney General James is also asking the court to recoup damages from the Nelsens and impose penalties, including $1,000 per violation of New York charities law, and $5,000 for each violation of the FAIR Business Practices Act, which protects New Yorkers from unfair, deceptive, or abusive business practices.