Responses from World Aid Runners
Below is a list of the public records requests people have made to World Aid Runners using this form.
Total requests made:
33
Total responses:
3
Valid responses:
0
Ian Umney - iCloud, HideMyEmail
Ian Umney | Updated 16 May, 2025
Ian Umney (HideMyEmail)
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Date: May 16, 2025
Dear sir/madam:
I’m helping people at the front. I consider this a threat. The reference to criminal offenses is particularly troublesome. We are helping people at the front, doing good. Using overwhelmingly my own resources. We comply with the laws. There have been recent threats made and a pattern of harassment, and I am currently consulting with counsel as to how to proceed. We have reported the relevant matters to authorities.
I will be in the USA shortly and will consult with our counsel and co-director then and proceed on the advise of counsel. Thank you.
It is regrettable that people affiliated with other organizations and who have agendas act this way towards people doing missionary work to help others. It is a significant distractions from the mission.
Regards,
Ben
From: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, May 7, 2025 9:00 AM
To: [email protected]>
Subject: Re: Response to request
As a member of the public, and with your charity acting in the public interest, I am well within my right to remain anonymous in this interaction.
You, on the other hand, are not within any rights to deny me access to this information.
I am asking for your tax returns and any other filings you should have submitted to the government.
Failing to give me this information is a criminal offence and I will take action, alongside others in this case.
Please present me with the accounting documents you should have legally filed last year for the previous year.
Date: 03 May 2025 23:26 UTC
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected] (HideMyEmail)
Dear sir/madam:
Thank you for your recent email to the WAR website email. I am currently in country. We are a small, grass roots organization generally funded by me, with some support from a small group of private donors. We don't have full time admin staff and are based in Kherson in the "red zone" at the front, where the intensity of the theatre and unreliable comms present additonal challenges. There are often long delays in attending to emails, especially when I am in country. I check the email very irregularly, as we have very little correspondence send to the email address. The nature of our frontline work and extreme forward location make attending to administrative correspondence a secondary priority that must generally wait until we are no longer in-country and in a position to address it.
We do not respond to correspondence that is anonymous, for legal and other security reasons. So, first, you will need to identify yourself and a verifiable identity before I can respond, as a matter of policy. So please do so, and I will endeavor to address your request, as far as I understand it.
Thank you for your correspondence.
Regards,
Ben Dusing
Co-Founder and Director
WAR
Ian Umney (iCloud)
To: [email protected]
CC: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Date: May 12, 2025
Dear Mr. Dusing,
I am writing to formally document and address serious and ongoing violations of federal and state law by World Aid Runners, Inc. (WAR), a U.S.-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization under your leadership.
Before outlining these violations, I must also raise a deeply personal concern: a close associate and major donor of your organisation, John Henson, is stalking me across multiple social media platforms. This behaviour appears intended to intimidate me and suppress legitimate inquiries. Such harassment is both distressing and unacceptable. He has also engaged in nefarious public engagement actions.
This email serves as:
- A final demand for compliance with public disclosure laws.
- A summary of illegal actions by WAR and its representatives.
- A notice of intent to report these violations to regulatory authorities if unresolved.
I. Legal and Ethical Violations
1. False Claims About Tax Return Disclosure
"Your request for tax return information is inappropriate and contrary to American custom, basic corporate practices, and law."
Issue: This contradicts IRS Code §6104, which mandates public access to Form 990s without identification.
Potential Violation: Federal compliance failure; reportable to IRS and state authorities.
2. Misrepresentation of Legal and Governance Structures
"...unofficial Board of Advisors and, legally, my co-founder and co-investor Will Waggoner is a practicing lawyer..."
Issues: Nonprofits cannot have investors. Legal partnerships with unclear boundaries raise red flags.
Potential Violation: Suggests misrepresentation; risks IRS scrutiny.
3. Implying Retaliation or Legal Threats to Suppress Transparency
"...if you are [involved with critics] be advised that legal action is being considered..."
Issue: Threats discourage lawful oversight; damaging for a public-benefit organization.
4. Culturally Insensitive Language
"...Perhaps you are not an American or a native English speaker..."
Implication: Not illegal, but offensive and unprofessional.
5. Failure to File and Disclose Required Tax Returns (Form 990-PF)
WAR has denied lawful requests for public filings, in violation of IRS disclosure laws.
Violation: Subject to fines, IRS complaints, and tax-exempt revocation.
6. Veiled Physical Threats Against a Critic
"There are... locals... anxious to have a word with you, in person, if you know what I mean."
Issue: Implied violence; possibly criminal.
7. Deflecting Accountability by Playing the Martyr
"I risk my life living... [near the] front..."
Issue: Emotional manipulation to avoid transparency.
8. Gaslighting and Psychological Manipulation
"You clearly have some major issues..."
Issue: Personal attacks to undermine legitimate questions.
9. Use of Legal Threats to Silence Critics
"Those are the consequences of your actions."
Issue: Appears retaliatory and intended to chill speech.
10. Inappropriate, Emotionally-Charged Language
"This is not how serious adults act..."
Issue: Undermines public trust in WAR's leadership.
11. Offering “Forgiveness” in Exchange for Compliance
"If you apologize, I can convince others to stand down."
Issue: Quid-pro-quo tactic, unethical in a governance context.
12. Shifting Blame onto Others & Playing the Victim
"You’re being used to advance agendas you don’t understand..."
13. Failure to Separate Personal from Organizational Identity
Ben Dusing often conflates personal and nonprofit operations, clouding accountability for financial and operational decisions.
II. Required Actions
- Provide all IRS Form 990-PF (or 990-EZ) filings since incorporation via email.
- Cease all retaliatory behavior toward public records requesters.
- Correct misleading governance statements (e.g., "co-investor" terminology).
III. Next Steps if Noncompliance Persists
If WAR fails to comply within 14 days (the 31st day since my public records request), I will:
- File formal complaints with the IRS and the New Mexico Attorney General.
- Refer the case to the FTC for investigation of deceptive practices.
- Report WAR’s noncompliance on Charity Navigator and Guidestar.
- Publicly call attention to WAR’s troubling governance and practices.
Attachments
This is your final opportunity to resolve these issues voluntarily. I urge you to consult legal counsel to avoid further penalties.
You have stripped my legal right to anonymity by demanding identification to fulfill a Form 990-PF request. That is the only reason you know who I am. Now, I demand transparency in return.
Sincerely,
Ian Umney
[email protected]
I was stalked on social media by John Henson, and as a result, asked Ben on his TikTok live to get John to stop these activities and to remove me from the list he curated about charityb critics. He replied "Look, I don't know".
Date: 09 May 2025 18:24 UTC
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
CC: [email protected]
Dear Mr. Dusing,
Thank you for your response. I appreciate that you are operating in challenging circumstances and have taken time to reply.
That said, I want to clarify a few key points and restate my original request for transparency in accordance with federal law.
1. Form 990 Public Disclosure Requirement
Contrary to your statement, it is not inappropriate to request tax return information from a U.S. nonprofit. As you may know, under federal law (Internal Revenue Code § 6104 and corresponding Treasury Regulations), organizations exempt under section 501(c)(3) are legally required to provide copies of their three most recent IRS Form 990 filings upon request. These are public documents and must be disclosed to anyone who asks, without requiring personal identification or justification for the request.
Your refusal to provide this information is a potential violation of federal law. For reference: IRS Public Disclosure Requirements.
2. Tone and Personal Remarks
Your response included several personal and cultural assumptions (e.g., referencing my language background and questioning my motives) that are inappropriate and unprofessional in a public-facing correspondence from a nonprofit leader. I hope we can keep this dialogue focused on facts, compliance, and accountability.
3. Governance and Legal Representation
You referenced an “unofficial Board of Advisors” and described your co-founder as both a “co-investor” and legal counsel. For a tax-exempt nonprofit organization, clarity around board governance, financial interests, and legal representation is critical. If World Aid Runners is registered as a 501(c)(3), these elements should be documented and available upon request or filed with the IRS and the State of New Mexico.
4. Restated Request
Please consider this a formal request under IRS rules for the following documents:
- Your organization’s most recent Form 990s.
I am not affiliated with any defamatory efforts or campaigns, nor am I making accusations. I am exercising a lawful right to transparency, one that applies to all organisations benefiting from tax-exempt status in the U.S. I am also collating mine, and others’ experiences with yourself and World Aid Runners to determine my course of action.
Should I not receive the above documents within a reasonable period, I may submit a report to the IRS and the New Mexico Attorney General's Charities Division, as you yourself suggested, to address any potential compliance concerns.
I look forward to your cooperation.
Best regards,
Ian Umney
Please note: There are other people who are requesting public records from yourself and you should endeavour to reply to them individually with the requested documents.
As it is illegal for you to refuse a public request for records, from anyone in the world, even if they wish to be anonymous. It is our legal right to be anonymous, it is not your legal right to refuse us based on that.
Date: 09 May 2025 18:01 UTC
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
CC: [email protected]
Hello. Again, as I stated in my prior response to your email to our website address, it is our policy not to respond to correspondence from third-parties who do not identify themselves, and if necessary provide sufficient information such that we can confirm who we are corresponding with. The nature and location of our work presents certain obvious risks and this approach is required to protect our personal and organizational security. So, again, please identify who and/or what you are. Frankly, it is disconcerting that you ignored my prior request in this regard.
I don’t know you. I go “Live” on TikTok frequently, and publicly, to touch base with our supporters and to attract new folks who want to help our mission here. I have a vague memory of the exchange you reference, but ot a specific one. It was not a threat, literally isn’t a threat, it was not addressed to anyone in particular, was part of a broader conversation referencing certain persons who apparently spend a lot of time slandering me and World Aid Runners on TikTok and other platforms, and plainly was not meant literally and was not interpreted as such by any other person but you. Perhaps you are not an American or a native English speaker, because if you are then you would likely recognize the saying as a common phrase in our culture that anyone in the West knows is not something that is literal.
I would never engage in violence against any person except to defend myself or others from physical attack. Violence is totally at odds with my personal beliefs and that of World Aid Runners, and that should be evident from the investment that I and we have made in the humanitarian work we do and where we do it. Nothing I say, EVER, should be interpreted as a threat of violence, and no one that knows me or is familiar with our organization would ever think that.
Your request for tax return information is inappropriate and contrary to American custom, basic corporate practices, and law. Access to tax returns is restricted, for obvious reasons, by American law, and is not sought in the ordinary course for this reason. Tax returns contain significant personal identifying information that is highly sensitive and can be used to gain access to information protected by law and to harass people. The disclosure of tax returns and the information contained therein and thereon is extremely inappropriate and not something that is requested or obtained in the ordinary course in the West.
We are regulated by the Attorney General’s Office of the State of New Mexico, under whose laws we are registered, pursuant to their laws. If there is some complaint about our organization, or any non-profit organized under New Mexican law, there is a mechanism to make such a complaint. I suggest you consult the Attorney General’s website. WE COMPLY WITH ALL APPLICABLE LAWS AND REGULATIONS AND LEGAL COMPLIANCE IS A CORE VALUE OF WORLD AID RUNNERS. Any suggestion is to the contrary is simply factually false. I and we are advised by professional accountants and lawyers where appropriate and we have an unofficial Board of Advisors and, legally, my co-founder and co-investor Will Waggoner is a practicing lawyer whose law office in Santa Fe, New Mexico is our registered legal address.
We are a small group of private persons using our own money to do good and do not have the resources, staff, etc. that large organizations that receive institutional or government funding do and risk our lives to be and go where those groups generally do not. As I stated in my prior email, which you ignored, the rigors of our work on the ground simply do not allow for me to promptly check much less respond to inquiries such as yours. It was chance that I saw your initial email and, given the disconcerting nature of your tone and tenor, I wanted to respond to it right away.
I am aware of certain persons slandering me, other people associated with World Aid Runners, and the org. I do not know if you are affiliated with them, or are one of the persons who published publicly the false information that such people are providing, but if you are be advised that legal action is being considered against such persons and the legal remedies available may be pursued. Legal counsel has been consulted to advise on the appropriate steps, in the event we are inclined to take them.
We’re just a bunch of people doing good and sacrificing a lot to do it, just because we believe in helping these people. It’s 100% real, couldn’t be a scam as a matter of basic and logic, and surely isn’t.
If you identify yourself and your purpose, I’ll answer appropriate questions when I can, consistent with our mission.
I have not carefully edited this correspondence for typos or other mistakes because I am in a war zone and cannot do so under the circumstances.
Regards,
Ben Dusing
World Aid Runners, Inc.
Co-Founder and Director
Ben Dusing blocked me on the World Aid Runners TikTok account.
Date: 02 May 2025 23:15 UTC
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
As per my website contact form, I’m enquiring about any government filings from the charity.
I can see the formation and exemption information but I’m after more up-to-date records.
Regards.
Date: 02 May 2025 19:58 UTC
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Hello, my apologies. please let me know if you require anything further.
2 Attachments: EIN Number.pdf, Exempt from IRS dated 04-17-23.pdf
Date: 02 May 2025 19:50 UTC
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
I emailed the website contact form a while ago asking for some documentation.
I would like you to confirm receipt of this request. The date of submission was 04/25/25
I have asked for your tax documentation relating to the charity
First request for document: 25th April, 2025 via World Aid Runners website contact form with HideMyEmail.
V7P7
V7P7 - Lionel de Lange | Updated 11 May, 2025
11 May 2025
From: Ben Dusing
To: Lionel de Lange
Lionel -
We don’t disclose our finances to unaffiliated third-parties upon demand for the same reasons that every other registered NGO doesn’t and couldn’t, which frankly should be common sense. We are a registered NGO, not volunteers. You clearly have a mistaken idea of who or what we are, how we are financed (overwhelmingly, by me), what we do or how we do it, and/or the basics of how registered non-profits operate.We haven’t done anything wrong, at all, I have contributed far more of my own funds than we receive in donations or ever could, and risk my life living less than one kilometer from the front everyday in a place where dozens are killed and injured every day. Clearly, our work here is not profitable in any way but in fact very sacrificial. Moreover, you seem to be unaware of our history here, which is one defined by service to many of the authorities you purport to claim to have reported us to. For almost 3 years we did not solicit or receive any financial support of any kind, and only began doing so when the mission unexpectedly and dramatically expanded and we found outlives in a singular position to address the relevant, serious need.
Against the backdrop of this history, the very idea of what you claim makes no sense whatsoever, on its face. Your reckless and baseless assertions are not only irresponsible and morally wrong, but offensive. You’ve made, apparently, countless factual assertions that are simply false, and per se slanderous. I’m not a criminal, have never been convicted of domestic violence, and wasn’t and could not be under investigation by any of the authorities you’ve publicly claimed — to name a few of the actionable things you’ve said, from what I’m told.
You’ve made physical threats that are deeply disconcerting and have generally acted in a deeply disturbing manner, including contact with my minor daughter, which raises deeply troubling legal questions. Please know that I am entirely prepared to have a fulsome discussion with any authority who wants to discuss any subject matter that involves you. I have no interest in any distractions from our mission, but trust you understand that any discussion will necessarily require me to disclose your harassing, disturbing, threatening, and slanderous conduct as part of same — of which you’ve managed to evidence by creating a damning, objective record. It would be wise to take a step back and ask yourself if you really want to go down that road. You clearly have some major issues, and I am quite sincerely trying to be nice and compassionate here.
If you issue a public apology and correct the factual misstatements you continue to make, despite well knowing (or willingly refusing to know) that these misstatements are untrue, I believe I can convince the other relevant parties you’ve involved slandered to stand down. Please know that counsel in the US has been consulted.
Your conduct is alarming and disturbing and I’ve asked you to have no contact with me. You continue to, despite my many requests. I shouldn’t have to tell you that is wrong. Legally and, more important, morally.
You plainly have some bad facts, and are the latest in a long line of persons to be used to advance agendas about which you aren’t aware, for reasons about which you don’t know. Yours are all rehashed, tired claims and allegations that never had merit but, anyway, have long since been affirmatively disproved. I’m sorry if you don’t know this.
Whether you know it or not, and you clearly don’t, you embarrass yourself. This is not how serious adults act, and certainly not serious humanitarians.
You’ve managed to become public enemy number 1 amongst the people of Kherson, and whatever consequences they impose are 1) well deserved, and 2) beyond my control. There are, to put it mildly, LOTS of locals in downtown Kherson and in military units that are anxious to have a word with you, in person, if you know what I mean.
You know you’ve done wrong. Apologize and make it right as is proper and let’s move on to serve the people, which is what we’re here to do, no?
Again, please do not have contact with me or anyone associated with World Aid Runners. Please also provide a mailing address where legal documentation can be sent and service of legal process can be effected, or the name and address of your counsel, if you have retained one. I regret that lawyers are involved, but … those are the consequences of your actions. Any and all further contact is especially inappropriate at this juncture given that legal avenues are now being explored.
Please understand it isn’t personal, just (non-profit) business. I have responsibilities, I trust you understand. And you have been given the opportunity to right what you darn well know — or should, at this juncture — is a serious wrong.
I wish you the best of luck, and offer a path to forgiveness and the avoidance of consequences.
Sincere Regards, Ben
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Dear World Aid Runners,
I am writing to submit a formal public records request for copies of your Form 990-PF filings for the most recent reporting years.
If possible, please provide these documents in electronic format for ease of review.
Thank you for your attention to this request. I look forward to your response within the time frame stipulated by applicable laws.
Sincerely,
Lionel de Lange
Request ID: V7P7
Submitted: 09 May, 2025
Transferred: 09 May, 2025
Please note: This request is made on behalf of someone. The accepted form of communication regarding this request is to reply to this individual email with the relevant response.
E3D1
E3D1 | Updated 16 May, 2025
From: Benjamin G Dusing
Subject: RE: E3D1 - PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST
Date: 16 May 2025 at 15:55:20 GMT+1
To: "[email protected]"
Dear sir/Madam:
I am unfamiliar with the request below and have received several similar to it from this same email address it appears. We are on the ground at the front and not in a position to respond to this request for various reasons at the moment. We are a small organization financed overwhelmingly by me and are all volunteers with no admin staff. My co-director and counsel handles these matters, in connection with the relevant professionals (lawyers and accountants). We will be traveling in the near future back to the USA, at which time I will attend to the necessary matters. It is my understanding that we filed extensions for tax years 2023 (virtually zero donations, to my knowledge) and tax year 2024 (some donations), but am proceeding on the advice of counsel and professionals. The original purpose of the organization did not envision the need to serve in the manner and to the tremendous extent the on the ground conditions at the front have required us to, so the relevant professionals are actively undertaking the necessary study to ensure that we are registered in the correct manner and are fully compliant with law.
If appropriate, once we are in the USA and I have time to consult with the relevant professionals, on whose advise we rely in being compliant with the law, I can connect you with those persons.
I do not purport to be an expert in the law of non-profit orgs, focus on doing the good I use my own money to do, and can do nothing but my best in responding to your requests. This response shall serve as a response to the other similar inquires made.
As I've requested, please identify yourself and your purpose. This is necessary for security reasons.
As I've stated, if you suspect any wrongdoing or something like that, you are free to make a complaint to our regulator. That said, unless using your own money for 3 years to sacrifice a lot and risk your life to be virtually the only org to help the people that need it the most, at the very tip of the front, is wrong, I assure you we've done nothing wrong!
Moreover, please be advised that the organization has consulted with counsel regarding recent libelous and slanderous statements that have been published about the organization and its principals and/or agents, for the purpose of pursuing available relief under US law. If you are associated with the persons involved, I recommend that you consult with a USA-based attorney regarding what is actionable and what is not.
Sincerely,
Ben Dusing
World Aid Runners.
Co-Founder and Director of Humanitarian Affairs
From: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2025 4:07 AM
To: Benjamin Dusing; Benjamin G Dusing
Subject: E3D1 - PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST
Dear World Aid Runners,
I am writing to submit a formal public records request for copies of your Form 990-PF filings for the most recent reporting years.
If possible, please provide these documents in electronic format for ease of review. Thank you for your attention to this request.
I look forward to your response within the time frame stipulated by applicable laws.
Sincerely,
E3D1
Request ID: E3D1
Submitted: 14 May, 2025
Transferred: 14 May, 2025
No response
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990-PF Fine Tracker (Post-30 Day Grace)
| Requester | Request Date | Request Deadline | Fine Accrued |
|---|