Government Claims Four Major Cancer Charities are Shams
The federal government is claiming that four major cancer charities were conning donors between 2008 and 2012.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, attorneys general for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, the charities, which were headed by extended members of the same family, used $187 million in donations on personal items and fees. The commission also reported that barely any money was used to help actual cancer patients.
The government has charged the Cancer Fund of America, Cancer Support Services Inc., the Children's Cancer Fund of America and the Breast Cancer Society Inc. The commission's complaint stated that the day-to-day activities at these charities were "rampant nepotism, flagrant conflicts of interest, and excessive insider compensation, with none of the financial and governance controls that any bona fide charity would have adopted," Reuters reported.
According to the FTC, some of the money was used on trips to Las Vegas, New York and Disney World, luxury cars, gym memberships, cruises, dating website fees and fun outings.
"The money is mostly gone," said Jessica Rich, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection.
The Center of Investigative Reporting compiled a list of America's Worst Charities and ranked the Cancer Fund of America second. The charity had raised $86.8 million but only used one percent of these donations on cancer patients, data compiled in December concluded. The Children's Cancer Fund of America was number nine on that list.
The Children's Cancer Fund of America and the Breast Cancer Society Inc. have agreed to close while the remaining two will fight the allegations. Three officials have accepted a ban from charitable fundraising.
