Eighty-five to 90 percent of every dollar Help the Vets raised went into the pockets of the telemarketers, and the purported “suicide hotline” they provided connected only to the founder’s cellphone.
In a historic move, last week the Federal Trade Commission and state charity offices announced a full-bench press response to the longstanding, widespread, and vile problem of charity fraud in the name of veterans.
A dispute between the Veterans in Defense of Liberty and the Better Business Bureau raises the usual questions of fundraising ethics, as well as whether BBB’s standards should apply to non-charitable nonprofits.
Fraudsters know that the public owes something to our veterans—so why not get in there and rip both off? It is well past time for Congress to pay closer attention to what has become a very common pattern damaging the credibility of veterans, donors, and honest nonprofits.
Why don’t real veteran’s groups speak out about the sham organizations out there raising millions for telemarketers and themselves?
Although the national organization VietNow has been closed by the concerted action of 25 attorneys general, there are a number of other chapter organizations that have survived. Is that a problem?
This week, a coalition of 25 attorneys general finally closed down VietNow, a charity that used more than 85 cents of the dollar for the cost of fundraising, but this type of fundraising scam in the name of veterans has been too common for way too long.
Pennies on the dollar are finally released to veterans charities after two long-running scams are closed down.
Lift for the 22 is the latest victim of a faux donor scam. Given the frequency of these bizarre faux donor scams, nonprofits should consider implementing a gift acceptance policy.
The California attorney general seeks to dissolve two fraudulent nonprofits and ban the family that spawned them from darkening the doorways of other nonprofits.
