The director of charitable trusts for the state attorney general’s office has a simple message for you:
Let the giver beware.
Because when you donate to a good cause, be it a national nonprofit or a private, more intimate effort, you can’t be certain the money will wind up where it should.
“It’s not foolproof,” Tom Donovan, the director, told me during a recent sit-down interview. “You can still get scammed by a website that looks like a legitimate organization, but it’s not. You can get a Facebook message and it looks legitimate. There are a lot of risks out there, with this move toward online fundraising.”
On Sunday, Donovan introduced us to corruption involving four cancer-related charities. His office and AG offices from across the country recently combined their efforts to shut down the thieves, who had bilked more than $187 million from people trying to make a difference.
The crooks, who had to file documents with the IRS to show how much money was going where, “were cooking their books,” Donovan said, or lying about how much cash they were taking for themselves.
The move was historical in nature, the first time law enforcement agencies nationwide had targeted a corrupt network of charities all at once. The Federal Trade Commission was involved as well.
In the end, though, no one involved in the rip-off, which centered on the Cancer Fund of America and Cancer Support Services Inc., did time, despite using much of the money for their own purposes.
Why?
“You’re not the only person to ask that,” Donovan said. “It was easier for 50 states to work together on a civil case to collect the money and shut someone down. To go after someone on criminal cases with 50 different states, you can’t really do that for each state, or the federal government has to do it criminally, and the judgment was made that the best way to pursue these people was to close them down and get what money there is.”
The total amount expected to be paid back, nationwide? Only $2 million, a reflection of just how difficult it is to monitor and prosecute such organizations. The rest of the money $187 million, Donovan said, was spent.
We saw this happen locally on a smaller scale, when a Gilford marathon – organized in 2013 by the principal of Gilford Elementary School, Danielle Bolduc – used Facebook to raise $31,000 for the victims of the killings at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Robert Bruce of Tennessee has agreed to plead guilty next month in a scam that netted $103,000, $73,000 of which Bruce allegedly could not account for.
Another informal charity, this one posted on a GoFundMe account, shocked the state when it was revealed that the Fauteux family of Hudson, who lost their daughter Tabatha to a drug overdose, had allegedly been bilked out of more than $5,000 by Krystal Gentley, a friend of Tabatha’s who said she’d raise money to help the Fauteuxs.
The GoFundMe scandal surfaced because the Fauteuxs knew the “charitable” source and simply tracked her down.
And while that scenario involved the unthinkable – a friend allegedly ripping off a grieving family – a close, personal relationship or some familiarity with the needy person or persons is a must. If you don’t know who’s involved, “That is the risk of giving to an individual rather than an organization,” according to Donovan.
For national nonprofit charities, the AG’s office has a checklist of suggestions to avoid being taken. Run for the hills if the charity:
Won’t provide information about its identity, mission, costs and how the money will be used.
Won’t give proof that a donation is tax deductible.
Uses high pressure methods to persuade you to give, without allowing time for research.
Seeks cash or the wiring of money.
Offers to send a courier to collect the money immediately.
Guarantees sweepstakes winnings in exchange for a contribution. By law, you never have to donate to be eligible to win a sweepstakes.
It really just comes down to common sense, though. As Donovan says, “Do your own research.”
(Ray Duckler can be reached at 369-3304 or rduckler@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @rayduckler.)