Judge rules Kars4Kids' jingle is 'deceptive,' hides ties to Jewish org

California residents no longer have to worry about getting the Kars4Kids jingle stuck in their head, after a judge ruled that the current iteration of the nonprofit’s advertising hides its affiliation with an Orthodox Jewish organization.

On May 8, Judge Gassia Apkarian of the Orange County Superior Court ruled that Kars4Kids’s advertising jingle is "deceptive" and fails to disclose the nonprofit’s robust funding ties to Oorah, an Orthodox Jewish organization based in New Jersey.

The case was brought by Bruce Puterbaugh in August 2021, after he learned that what he thought was a charitable donation benefitting children in his home state of California actually funded "matchmaking" services and “gap year” trips for young Jewish adults and older teens, according to court documents reviewed by USA TODAY.

Here’s what to know about the case and the ruling.

What’s donated in California doesn’t stay in California

In 2021, Puterbaugh came into the possession of a nonfunctioning 2001 Volvo XC, according to court documents. The retired California resident told the court he intended to get the car working but never did. Eventually, Puterbaugh said, his wife asked him to get rid of it.

At the same time, Puterbaugh testified, he was subjected to the Kars4Kids jingle “over and over.” For more than two decades, people across the country have heard the jingle, with its infectious melody and lyrics; “1-877-Kars4Kids/K-A-R-S Kars for Kids/1-877-Kars4Kids/Donate your car today.”  

Puterbaugh, describing himself as a “charitable person,” figured that if he donated the car in California, it would benefit someone in his community or elsewhere in the state. Likewise, given that the Kars4Kids commercial features 8- to 10-year-olds, Puterbaugh believed his donation would help underprivileged children, specifically.

It wasn’t until after he donated the vehicle that Puterbaugh’s neighbor informed him of Kars4Kids’ ties to Oorah, an organization that is “dedicated to Jewish heritage and summer camps in New York and New Jersey,” according to court documents.

COO’s ‘strikingly candid’ testimony

In testimony described as “strikingly candid” by Judge Apkarian, Kars4Kids’ COO Esti Landau conceded that the nonprofit is a Jewish organization, but that the 30-second ad “does not say anything” about its religious affiliation.

Landau testified that roughly 25% of Kars4Kids’ revenue comes from California, but the organization has zero presence in the state, save for an annual backpack giveaway funded through “small grants.” Additionally, of the 120,000 vehicles donated to Kars4Kids each year, about a quarter of them come from California.

Whereas Puterbaugh assumed his donation would benefit someone in need, Landau said “the organization’s primary purpose is not to help economically disadvantaged children.”

Rather, Oorah provides “matchmaking” services for young Jewish adults, and funds “gap year” trips to Israel for 17- and 18-year-olds. Its primary function, Landau said, is to help “Jewish kids and families throughout their lives.”

With 60% of Kars4Kids’ funds going to Oorah, Landau said, the national charity serves as Oorah’s primary financial backer, contributing upwards of $45 million to it annually. And some of that money doesn’t even stay within the U.S.

According to court documents, in 2022, Oorah allocated $437,000 to Middle East outreach, transferred $16.5 million to North Africa and the Middle East, and spent $16.5 million on a building in Israel, where it’s working to grow its presence.

Apkarian’s ruling

Given all of this, Apkarian ruled that Kars4Kids’ advertising is false and misleading. She permanently banned the organization from running its ads in their current form in the state of California, and also ordered the nonprofit to pay Puterbaugh $250, the Volvo’s value, in restitution.

In a statement shared with USA TODAY, Puterbaugh’s attorneys said they are “very pleased that the Court found, after a 5 day trial, ‘that the organization’s primary purpose is not to help economically disadvantaged children,’” and permanently enjoined Kars4Kids from continuing to use the ad in its present form.”

“This fraudulent and deceptive campaign has now been put to an end,” Puterbaugh’s attorneys added.

Attorneys for Kars4Kids did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.

Asbury Park Press investigation

Aside from its deceptive and misleading advertising, a recent investigation by the Asbury Park Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, found numerous other issues connected to Kars4Kids.

• A recent federal lawsuit claims the Kars4Kids ads are deceptive and accuses the charity of mail and wire fraud, and racketeering. The complaint describes the non-profit's approach as “a scheme to deceive unwitting donors into donating their vehicles for undisclosed and misrepresented purposes.” It also calls it “fraudulent conduct.”
• Nearly 40% of Kars4Kids revenue has gone toward advertising, much of it to Google to ensure top search engine results, an expenditure considered far beyond the amount nonprofits should spend.
• In 2024, Kars4Kids spent more money, $41.5 million, on advertising than it spent for its main charity, Oorah, which received $35.3 million. It also spent some $5.3 million on salaries, which do not include the eight high-level administrators who take home more than $100,000 each.
• More than 95% of the cash raised through car-donations and other sources is funneled to a sister charity that uses most of its revenue to promote Jewish theology, with a large portion focused on adults, including a Jewish dating retreat.
• Since 2008, the first year for which records are available, Kars4Kids has collected more than 1.6 million vehicles with an estimated value of $955 million, according to tax records. That’s an average value of just under $600 each.
• Since 2009, three state government investigations have found that Kars4Kids had not properly informed would-be donors that they were contributing to a religious organization. The fundraising outfit serves customers in all 50 states.
• All vehicles either go for scrap or to an auto reseller, but at least half wind up in a junkyard.

Contributing: Joe Strupp, Asbury Park Press, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Drew Pittock covers national trending news for USA TODAY. He can be reached at [email protected].