Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Will Distribute $2.5 Million Recovered Through Lawsuits Against Sham Cancer Charities
(Hartford, CT) -- Attorney General William Tong announced that $2.5 million will be distributed to cancer centers across the country as a result of a multistate enforcement action against sham cancer charities.
This distribution marks the conclusion of the lawsuit, brought in May 2015. The suit was the first time that all 50 States, the District of Columbia and the Federal Trade Commission joined together to shut down sham charities. The lawsuit was settled in September 2016. Click here to view the stipulated settlement order.
The $2.5 million was recovered through settlements of a landmark lawsuit against four affiliated sham charities – the Cancer Fund of America, Inc., The Breast Cancer Society, Inc., Cancer Support Services, Inc., and the Children’s Cancer Fund of America – and their founder James Reynolds and other individuals. Through the settlements, each sham charity was shut down, the people responsible for fronting the false charities were banned from any charity or fundraising activities for the rest of their lives, and the federal and state plaintiffs received judgments for the full amount of the alleged fraud. The settlements also put in place a receiver who seized and liquidated all available corporate and personal assets to satisfy those judgments.
"People generously opened their hearts and wallets to these sham charities thinking their donations would help aid cancer patients in need. Instead, James Reynolds and his family members squandered donations on personal luxuries and junk. These scams were truly unconscionable," said Attorney General William Tong. "This resolution was the result of nationwide cooperation between every state, the District of Columbia and the FTC—sending a clear warning to scammers who seek to profit from others' kindness and generosity...