State authorities are alleging that Outreach Associates Inc., a South Side fundraising company, broke the law dozens of times in recent years by hiring convicted criminals to solicit money for charities and by failing to file timely and complete financial reports.

Outreach Associates was the subject of a March expose in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that documented how the Wharton Street company employed at least 26 workers since 2006 whose criminal records should have barred them under state law from working as professional solicitors.

In the aftermath of the report, the company conducted background checks on its roughly 150 employees and fired 18 with criminal records because their employment violated state law.

The Solicitation of Funds for Charitable Purposes Act forbids anyone convicted of any felony or a misdemeanor involving dishonesty from working as a professional solicitor.

"The reason why the law exists is because solicitors have direct contact with the public. They collect money from the public, and so I think as a result of the kind of work that they're doing they have to live up to a higher standard of trust," Tracy Boak, director of the state's Bureau of Charitable Organizations, which oversees professional solicitors, said Tuesday.

Among Outreach Associates' clients were Habitat for Humanity, Amnesty International and the League of Women Voters.

The convicted criminals that Outreach Associates hired included sex offenders, thieves, forgers and drug felons.

The state's allegations are contained in an administrative action sent Aug. 25 to the company, which does business as Direct Advantage Marketing. It is a subsidiary of Integrated Fundraising and Marketing Solutions Inc. in Newton, Mass.

Outreach Associates has a month to respond to 45 alleged violations of the Solicitation of Funds act. The company could face penalties of $1,000 per count plus additional fines.

"We rarely have to reach this point. We typically are able to resolve it either through the registration process or through a consent agreement," Ms. Boak said.

On Dec. 20, 2009, Outreach Associates' state registration expired, meaning fundraisers cannot legally seek donations in Pennsylvania.

Ultimately, it will be up to the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth to decide whether to block the company's ability to register in the future and order it to cease and desist all activity in the state.

Daryl F. Clemmens, a spokeswoman for Outreach Associates, acknowledged that the company did not file some financial reports. However, she claimed that the fundraiser has records of 16 reports it filed for which it received no confirmation from the state.

"Somewhere in the ethernet there are 16 reports that were actually filed that never made it to the state for whatever reason," Ms. Clemmens said.

Some of the charitable organizations whose fundraising campaign results were not properly filed by Outreach Associates include the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting, the Sierra Club and WDUQ-FM, the state said.

In June state investigators subpoenaed information about all people employed at Outreach Associates since 2003, any criminal records uncovered, and policies and procedures governing background checks.

In response, Outreach Associates identified a dozen solicitors with criminal records. Two had felony drug convictions and four had misdemeanor convictions for crimes including access device fraud, fraud in obtaining food stamps or welfare assistance and theft.

Outreach did not properly comply with the subpoena because it failed to provide all the materials the state sought, according to the administrative action.

"They did absolutely comply with the state in the investigation, but obviously if information was left out [in response to the subpoena], they'll get them the information they need," Ms. Clemmens said.

Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.