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The Cancer Fund of America was accused of building a network of “sham charities” designed to enrich officers at the expense of sick women and children.
The family behind Cancer Fund of America built a network of “sham charities” that were designed to enrich their officers at the expense of sick women and children, a complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission alleges.
The IRS doesn’t have the manpower to go after charities that flout the law, and it could do more to help state regulators target crooked operators, according to a federal watchdog report.
Judith Johnson of Stacyville, Iowa, doesn’t get out much anymore. Legally blind and living on a small Social Security pension, the 72-year-old used to go to church once a week. She stopped out of fear that her new walker would snag on the railroad tracks she had to cross to get there. But Johnson, whose
To track how telemarketing companies target donors, the Tampa Bay Times and The Center for Investigative Reporting focused on one company, Associated Community Services, and examined how it did business in one state, Iowa. Associated Community Services is one of the largest charity fundraisers in the country, according to data compiled by GuideStar, an organization
Hear what happens when a potential donor realizes that a computer is calling, asking for a donation. Credit: Courtesy of the South Carolina Secretary of State's office UPDATE, Nov. 15, 2013: This story updates to include information about a fine against Corporations for Character. Amanda Thomas is the perfect telemarketer. She’s always perky and
Attorney Errol Copilevitz represents some of the worst charities in the U.S. Hear reporter Kendall Taggart discuss meeting Copilevitz.
Update, Sept. 12, 2013: This story updates information about Civic Development Group. Errol Copilevitz started his legal career representing strip clubs and porn shops on the seedy side of Kansas City. Then he took free-speech arguments honed defending topless bars to a more lucrative field. Philanthropy. Today, Copilevitz is the undisputed king of the
America’s worst charities have come under renewed scrutiny following a series by the Tampa Bay Times and The Center for Investigative Reporting that ranked organizations based on how much they spent on professional solicitation companies over the past decade. A leading watchdog group is reviewing its ratings of charities on the Times/CIR list, regulators in
Carol Smith still gets angry when she remembers the box that arrived by mail for her dying husband. Cancer Fund of America sent it when he was diagnosed with lung cancer six years ago. Smith had called the charity for help. “It was filled with paper plates, cups, napkins and kids’ toys,” the 67-year-old Knoxville,
Four years ago, charity regulators in 38 states banded together to take down one of the most deceptive charity solicitors in America. In an unusual show of force, they marshaled resources from across the country and targeted Community Support Inc. An investigator in Iowa posed as a donor and secretly recorded calls coming from boiler
Before you give: Find out exactly who’s calling. Ask if the caller is a paid telemarketer. Get the exact name and location of the charity he or she represents. Beware of charities that mimic the names of well-established groups and of claims that you’ve given before to a charity you’ve never heard of. Find out
