Former Windy City Ghostbusters member accused of lying on state paperwork to take control of charity

Who you gonna call if someone locks you out of your own charity? That's the question members of a Ghostbusters-themed nonprofit say they're asking after a former member allegedly used state paperwork to take control of their charity, leaving them locked out of their own organization and unsure what happened to the donations they raised for sick children.

The Windy City Ghostbusters are some of Chicagoland's most recognizable heroes, inspired by the 1980s blockbuster.

They're not just in the business of busting ghosts. but in raising spirits, too.

"Knowing that my efforts are going to help children, it really, it warms my heart and makes me feel like what I'm doing is making a difference," said Windy City Ghostbusters member Matthew Goeltenbodt.

He and the other Windy City Ghostbusters take lots of pictures and raise money for children's hospitals. 

"We have our walkie talkie to make sure we can get ahold of the other busters. We have our Ecto Goggles that will show us entities that may not be visible to the naked eye," he said.

But it hasn't all been fun and games. Like any group with more than 50 members, there have been a few paranormal personality clashes.

One member in particular, Frank Zeimetz, sent a scathing resignation text in 2024, quitting the group because he said he was treated poorly.  He even went as far as burning his t-shirt. 

Two years later, other members say things got more serious. 

In April, the group's president went to deposit a donation into the charity's bank account, only to discover they'd been locked out, barred from accessing the $6,849 they'd raised. 

The bank said it was because, according to new paperwork they had just received, he wasn't the president. 

Who was? Zeimetz. 

"We don't know what he's done with the funds, and if we are able to get that account back, what's going to be left to donate?" Goeltenbodt said.

Here's what happened, to the best of our understanding. 

The Windy City Ghostbusters was due to file their domestic corporation annual report with the Illinois Secretary of State's Office on March 3.

When they missed the deadline, Zeimetz, who according to Goeltenbodt was very well versed in the timeline, seized the opportunity to file the report himself, identifying himself as both the president and director of the Windy City Ghostbusters.

"He is not. He was never an elected official of Windy City Ghostbusters," Goeltenbodt said.

Those statements are signed under penalty of perjury.

And under the statement of activity, Zeimetz wrote "none."

"Windy City will not be conducting any activities and it will be dissolving," the statement said.

"Since he didn't feel heard, he didn't feel recognized, maybe the easiest way for him to go about it is just make sure that Windy City Ghostbusters no longer exists," Goeltenbodt said.

Bennett Weiner, president and CEO of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, said a late registration isn't that unusual, especially for small charities, but the hostile takeover by a former member is.

"Many charities are late, sometimes, in filing their annual renewal registration in the state they're soliciting in," he said.

What happened to the money for the kids? When the actual Windy City Ghostbusters briefly re-gained access to the account last month, they discovered several withdrawals and debit card purchases – one for a restaurant in Hammond, Indiana, and several minor league baseball-game related purchases. 

Zeimetz, coincidentally or not, posted pictures at a Hammond restaurant and at a Joliet Slammers baseball game on those corresponding dates.  

Asked why he was trying to shut down the charity, Zeimetz first said "It's really complicated," then declined to comment.

He insisted he didn't lie to the Illinois Secretary of States Office on the Windy City Ghostbusters annual report he filed.

"I'm done talking right now," he said.

But in several "cease and desist" letters he sent to charitable partners that work with the Windy City Ghostbusters, Zeimetz claimed his authority stemmed from the fact that "the corporation was administratively dissolved" for missing the filing deadline. 

But that claim is just wrong. It was never dissolved, according to the Illinois Secretary of State's Office.  

"An organization is not administratively dissolved immediately after missing its annual report deadline," an Illinois Secretary of State's Office spokesperson said in a statement. "Under state law, the Department of Business Services first issues a Notice of Delinquency and provides a 90-day period for the organization to come back into compliance. Only if the issue is not corrected within that timeframe will the organization be administratively dissolved."

Asked why he claimed to be president and CEO of the Windy City Ghostbusters when he was no longer a member, Zeimetz declined to comment.

The Illinois Secretary of State's office said the charity's filing record is currently "on hold" while they investigate. 

"The Secretary of State's office received this complaint in May and is actively reviewing the matter. As part of that process, the office has placed a hold on the not-for-profit corporation's filing record and is issuing interrogatories to gather additional information," a spokesperson said in a statement. "As we have previously stated, the Secretary of State's office does not adjudicate internal governance disputes between or determine which individuals have lawful authority over a corporation or not-for-profit entity. The review remains ongoing, and the office will take any action within its statutory authority that is supported by facts and Illinois law."

Meantime, the Windy City Ghostbusters said they're in limbo. 

"We want to keep going out and doing what we. What we do best, which is putting smiles on people's faces. Faces and making sure that we're engaging, because if we let this die down now and let him win, then what do we have?" Goeltenbodt said.

They did hear from one children's hospital that they received a large check from the Windy City Ghostbusters, but it's unclear what happened with the rest of the money that was withdrawn, because all of it was meant to benefit sick kids. 

"We do still exist, and right now, no pun intended, in spirit," Goeltenbodt said.