Wow: 4 Big Cancer Charities Accused Of Being TOTAL Frauds. Did You Donate To One?
Swindled donors out of nearly $200 million.
James Beattie May 20, 2015 at 1:06pm
Four cancer charities run by members of the same extended family swindled donors out of nearly $200 million and are now the target of an investigation by all 50 attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
A government complaint alleges the Cancer Fund of America, the Breast Cancer Society, the Children’s Cancer Fund of America, and Cancer Support Services conned $187 million from donors, CNN reported. The outlet has been reporting on these charities since 2013.
James Reynolds, Sr. runs the Cancer Fund of America and Cancer Support Services, while his son, James Reynolds, Jr., is the CEO of the Breast Cancer Society. Rose Perkins, the ex-wife of the elder Reynolds, is in charge of the Children’s Cancer Fund of America.
“[D]onated funds were used to pay for vehicles, personal consumer goods, college tuition, gym memberships, Jet Ski outings, dating website subscriptions, luxury cruises, and tickets to concerts and professional sporting events,” the complaint says. CNN provides further background:
The government says the charities claimed to provide direct support for cancer patients, breast cancer patients and children with cancer.
“These were lies,” the government’s complaint says.
Jessica Rich, chief of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, says that in all, the charities spent about 97% of donations they received either on private fundraisers or on themselves. Only 3%, she says, went to help actual cancer patients.
http://www.westernjournalism.com/wow-4-big-cancer-charities-accused-of-being-total-frauds-did-you-donate-to-one/
