Koster joins suit over fake charity schemes

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, 49 other attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission have filed suit against four fake charities and their operators alleging the theft of over $187 million. At least $3 million reportedly came from Show-Me State residents.

According to a news release, the plaintiffs claim the defendants acted as legitimate charities providing direct support to cancer patients throughout the United States, but the suit alleges over 90 percent of contributions to the organizations went to the operators, families and friends, as well as professional fundraisers, according to a news release.

The defendants are Cancer Fund of America Inc. and Cancer Support Services Inc., run by President James Reynolds Sr. and Chief Financial Officer Kyle Effler; Children’s Cancer Fund of America Inc. and its president and executive director, Rose Perkins; and Breast Cancer Society Inc., along with its executive director and former president, James Reynolds II.

“These operators created names to sound like legitimate cancer charities, then proceeded to line their own pockets with the money they raised,” Koster said in the release. “Scam artists who prey upon the charitable intentions of others need to be put out of business.”

Two of the organizations have reached settlements: Breast Cancer Society agreed to pay $65.6 million in restitution and Children’s Cancer Fund of America agreed to pay $30.1 million. The amounts represent donations between 2008 and 2012, and the release said both corporations would be liquidated to satisfy the judgments, according to the release.

Additionally, Effler of Cancer Fund of America and Cancer Support Services entered an individual settlement. Under the agreement, he submitted to a $41.2 million judgment, the amount donated to the organizations between 2008 and 2012. Effler, Perkins and Reynolds II also have been permanently banned from fundraising, managing a charity and overseeing charitable assets.

The settlement agreements are not final until approved by the court, and litigation is ongoing against Cancer Fund of America, Cancer Support Services and Reynolds Sr., according to the release.[[In-content Ad]]