Feed the Children Founders Larry and Frances Jones File a Lawsuit Against Hobby Lobby Owner David Green and Others

Feed the Children Charity founders Larry and Frances Jones have filed a lawsuit against Hobby Lobby Founder and Owner alleging tortious interference, defamation, and civil conspiracy.

The Lawsuit was filed in the Oklahoma County District Court claiming the defendant David Green, his sons and grandson all conspired against Larry Jones which resulted in him being stripped of his title as President and terminated immediately from the Feed the Children Charity.

In 2009 the board of Directors removed Jones from the staff and brought on billionaire David Green claiming the charity was in financial trouble.

Jones claims the charity was more than financially stable and showed no signs of wavering funds. "We had $28 million in an abandoned baby account which was restricted funds because we were getting ready to build more in Kenya," claims Jones. "There was $18 million in a rainy day fund which brings it to $46 million and then we had assets up to somewhere between $75 to $100 million that were paid for."

Lawyer for the Joneses, Gary L. Richardson, describes Jones calculated removal with the charity more of a conquest than a rescue. "The idea that they were coming in to "rescue" Feed The Children was not genuine in that there was no evidence or reason to or cause to believe Feed the Children needed to be rescued. It had all the advances of being a takeover, not a rescue."

David Green owns Fortune 500 company Hobby Lobby; Mardel, a Christian bookstore chain; and Crafts Etc! a crafts wholesaler and online retailer. He is known as Oklahoma's third wealthiest individual with net worth of 2.6 billion according to forbes.com. So why would a man of his status and financial affluence be interested in the charity?

"What we believe is there are a lot of assets at Feed the Children that are of great value to someone like the Greens," says Richardson. "The warehouses, the trucking firm, the mailing list, the donors list that brought in millions upon millions. Feed the Children would have a lot of value to them whether they feed another child or not."

Feed the Children has a regional distribution center in Ontario making Los Angeles the third largest donor. However, the change in staff, power and intention might have a huge impact on the Ontario based office. In 2009 donations ranked in at 1.2 billion while in 2010 just 538 million. Future dramatic drops in donations could mean fewer children being fed and limited aid to victims who have suffered through earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters.

Larry Jones attributes his absence, change in operations and miscalculations to the decline in donations. "Well I think when it came out that the Greens were going to rescue Feed The Children, I think the average donor who actually heard that said the Greens are billionaires so why should I give my money?" When disasters hit we were there immediately and now it's seemingly a week to two weeks later that they show up. When they go, they just have a bunch of trucks and there's no celebrities that go with them."

The Joneses have extended their hands and hearts to national and worldwide matters such as the Oklahoma City Bombing, Wars in Serbia, Iraq and Afghanistan, earthquakes, major floods and 15 hour work days on holidays. These types of unfortunate human tragedies still pull on their heart strings. "I know what to do in a disaster and yet at the same time I don't have the infrastructure to do what I did then, it's frustration with a capital F," says Jones.

After all is said and done Larry Jones wants to band the severed relationship with Feed The Children and continue to fight the good fight against hunger and help those in a great time of need.

"Yes I'd like the job back with Feed The Children because that's what I've done for 31 years and we were literally all over the world," says Jones. "I just need an infrastructure to really make a difference and we know how to do that."

The Joneses are scheduled to go to court with their lawsuit against the Greens in August 2011.