California judge bans Kars4Kids jingle over false advertising law
A California judge has permanently banned the Kars4Kids jingle from state airwaves after a full civil trial found that the charity's 30-year-old advertisement misled donors by concealing where their money actually goes.Orange County Superior Court Judge Gassia Apkarian issued the ruling on May 8, finding that Kars4Kids violated California's False Advertising Law and Unfair Competition Law.
The case, "Puterbaugh v. Oorah, Inc.," was brought by California resident Bruce Puterbaugh, a cabinetmaker in his 70s who donated his car believing the proceeds would help underprivileged children locally. Instead, his $250 donation went to Oorah Inc., a New Jersey-based Orthodox Jewish outreach organization.
Trial testimony and IRS Form 990 documents revealed that over 60% of Kars4Kids' total funds—approximately $45 million annually—flow to Oorah.
In 2022, Oorah allocated $437,000 to "Middle East outreach" and transferred $16.5 million to purchase a building in Israel.
The court found that funding does not primarily benefit young children in need; instead, it supports older teens (ages 17 and 18) participating in gap-year trips to Israel, adult matchmaking services, and related family programming.
While California accounts for 25% of Kars4Kids’ national vehicle intake (roughly 30,000 cars annually), the charity runs no functional programs in the state.
Its local presence is limited to a branded backpack giveaway of about 1,000 bags distributed regardless of financial need, which was described in court as a "branding exercise," according to court documents.
Chief operating officer Esti Landau testified that the organization's primary purpose is not to help economically disadvantaged children, and confirmed that the word "Jewish" appears nowhere in the advertisement.
Judge Apkarian ruled that using child actors aged 8–10, the name "Kars4Kids," and a repetitive four-line jingle stripped of substantive facts constituted an "actionable strategy of deception."
Kars4Kids has been ordered to pay Puterbaugh $250 in restitution.
Legal analyst Neama Rahmani joins LiveNOW's Anna Marsick to discuss.
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