Fraudulent Cancer Charity Faces Shut Down
Cancer charities rake in a lot of money every year, probably because the disease has yet to be cured. People with cancer suffer through a harsh treatment process and, unfortunately, even then are sometimes unable to recover. It’s something we’ve been working on for years and years and years and years. And years.
Who among us loves cancer? None of us. Who among us knows somebody suffering from cancer? Probably quite a few of us. So it makes sense that such a large number of people are willing to donate to organizations raising funds for cancer research. Sadly, this also means that cancer charities are prime targets for criminals seeking a lucrative cause to exploit.
Take James Reynolds, for instance: this guy started two different cancer charities and managed to milk $75 million out of them! Way to go, James! (As in, way to go straight to jail, do not pass GO, do not collect $200, in fact, do not collect anything from anyone for a long time).
Cancer Donations? Don’t Mind if He Does!
The fraudulent charities run by James Reynolds (Sr.) are called the Cancer Fund of America, or CFA, and Cancer Support Services, or CSS. I’ll give you one good guess on what these organizations were supposed to be doing with the money people donated to them. Here’s a hint: the money was supposed to help cancer patients.
I’ll tell you what they really did with it, in the words of Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens, who worked alongside the Federal Trade Commission to permanently shut down the fraudulent charities, and acquired an injunction to do so on Wednesday:
“Today, joining forces with federal and state partners, we have put an end to an egregious and extensive charity fraud scheme which claimed to assist children with cancer and breast cancer patients. These so-called charities took advantage of the generosity of others to fund their lavish lifestyles.”
Which is obviously disgusting on a lot of levels. For one thing, if you’re going to exploit people, at LEAST have the decency to target healthy adults instead of children suffering from cancer. I think it’s safe to say the only people sad about the end of the CFA and CSS are James Reynolds and his fellow leeches.
Donor Scamming? Don’t Mind if They Do!
Of course, we have to remember that it wasn’t just James Reynolds acting alone here. HIs organizations account for just two of the four phony cancer charities that got busted this week. The Cancer Fund of America, Cancer Support Services, and the other two charities had been on increasingly thin ice due to a lawsuit filed against them in May of 2015. Now the ice has broken.
While James Reynolds’s two charities, CFA and CSS, illegally raked in $75 million, the combined amount of money scammed by all four cancer charities amounts to a whopping $187 million.
And guess how much money these charities spent on cancer patients? Oh you know, nothing wild. 3%. Three percent of the funds raised by charities netting $187 million in donations. Here’s a statement from the original lawsuit:
“The charities or their telemarketers allegedly falsely told donors that their contributions would be used to provide pain medication to children suffering from cancer, to transport patients to chemotherapy appointments, and to pay for hospice care for dying patients. None of these services are believed to have actually been provided.”
Holy SHIT!! None of them?
At this point, I’m thinking that James Reynolds and the other parasites who profited from stealing money from cancer patients should have, you know, expected to get caught. It takes a lot of courage (or something) to take millions of dollars from people under the pretense of charity and spend pretty much all of it on yourselves. Like, that’s bold. It’s bold, stupid, and unquestionably, it’s either very selfish or very evil. Probably both.
Well, sorry James Reynolds. It sucks that you have to give up your expensive artwork, expensive pistols, and pontoon boat. But if we’re talking about situations that suck, you might do well to recall those years you were scamming sick people for your own selfish gain.
At Turner Law Offices, P.C., our team of attorneys has years of experience working with clients pursuing damages for fraud cases just like this cancer charity scam. Whether you’re concerned that you might be the victim of fraud, or just deciding how to proceed, your best course of action is to seek legal representation immediately. Without a good lawyer, it will be nearly impossible to reach a satisfactory conclusion in white-collar cases like fraud — so don’t wait! Call today, or go online to set up your free initial consultation, and meet with a skilled attorney who’s ready and waiting to guide you toward the justice you deserve.
