The Charities Commission is considering “all options to enforce compliance” with regards to defunct charity Youth on the Move and its financial activities.

The charity, founded by former Corporation of Hamilton councillor and former Mayoral candidate Carlton Simmons, lost its charitable status in 2013 after failing to respond to queries from the commission about its activities or to provide requested financial audits.

Two years on, Youth on the Move has still not responded, leading the commission to consider further options.

According to the commission, one of the main triggers for an inquiry was a building purchased by Youth on the Move at 27 Elliott Street.

When it was active, the then charity received a grant of $280,000 from the Ministry of Community and Cultural Affairs, with financial statements showing that it had also purchased a building.

The corporate entity Youth on the Move Bermuda Ltd that held the charity’s assets is still registered as active with the Registrar of Companies and questions have arisen over the ownership of the building and the fate of the government funds.

Under the Charities Act 2014, if a donor gives a charitable gift then the donor has an expectation that the assets will be used in the manner originally envisaged.

Failure of this means that one must either return the gift to the original donor if they are identifiable, or a court order must be made for permission to apply the property for a different purpose.

The donation of $280,000 was listed in the charity’s December 2011 financial statements, which its business plan suggests came from the government department.

In addition, the financial documents indicate a building was purchased at a value of $932,245. A long-term loan is also listed at $822,010.33.

A Government spokesman said: “The Charities Commission continues to seek a response from Youth on the Move, as there are concerns that they may not have fulfilled their requirements under the Charities Act.

“The commissioners wrote to Youth on the Move in early 2013 with a number of queries as part of the re-registration process, but no response was forthcoming. As a result, they lost their charitable status later that year.

“Youth on the Move continues to be non-responsive in spite of best efforts.

“The Commission is therefore actively considering all options available to ensure compliance with the Act in accordance with its regulatory obligations.”

When contacted by this newspaper, Mr Simmons refused to answer any questions in relation to the charity’s activities, the ownership and purpose of the building, or the reasons for his refusal to respond to the Charities Commission.

When contacted by this newspaper, Chairman of the commission, Richard Ambrosio, said: “One of the interesting things that caught our eye was that this was a charity that was organised as a company limited by shares as opposed to a company limited by guarantee.

“In our collective experience it is simply unheard of to have charities incorporated by shares as it suggests that when the property winds up that any profits arising there from go back to the individual shareholders.

“One of the main triggers for us to ask questions was the building — we would note that they were in receipt of government funding, so there was an obligation to ensure that the significant funding was used as appropriate.

“In a sense we were just looking at them in the same manner as we would look at any other charity but there were also a couple of issues about them that struck us as worthy of further query.”

Youth on the Move was owned by Mr Simmons, who held 8,400 shares, and Jahnika Simons, who held 3,600 shares.

Mr Simmons and Ms Simons have been listed as the president and vice-president of the charity in Youth on the Move documents.

The government spokesman confirmed: “It is also correct to say that charities do not incorporate with shareholders.”

Buying a building was a priority for the charity from the time of its inception. According to its strategic plan: “The YOM recognises the importance of establishing a physical base. This will ensure and facilitate our ability to act. This is a key priority on our agenda and largely centred on securing a suitable property.”

The strategic plan included “encouraging and promoting development within the empowerment zone, acquiring property which would be exclusively designated to housing and facilitating interests of young Bermudian entrepreneurs, improving the development of community programmes such as reading clinics and self-incentive-based schemes, the active promotion and provision of sources for free legal advice, the development of career information programmes that give the opportunity for young people to interact with industry leaders, the active promotion and provision of banking and borrowing consultation, and the active promotion and provision of parental consultation and training”.

Critical success factors were listed as “financing, real estate, and dedicated leadership and membership”.