Its easy to get the status back, they just need to file the 990 (I believe that's the form) and a request to be reinstated. Its not uncommon. I wouldn't call it lying, they might not have known it was revoked or they could be in the process of getting it back, and if they do get it back, I believe all the donations they received during the revocation period are still tax exempt for the org and still a write off for those who donate.
Lol something funny about how screwed up the IRS is: A few years ago, a local IRS center that deadly with 501(c)(3) apps closed down. When a new company moved into the building, they found a bunch of apps spanning a number of years tucked up in the ceiling tiles.

Crazy! They're so back logged that they were just hiding new apps.