Unscrupulous telephone marketers posing as charitable organizations but using the money for non-charitable purposes have been exposed and prosecuted in a landmark case. More than $110 million are believed to have been misappropriated by telemarketers posing as legitimate charities, keeping up to 90 cents of each dollar donated.
Charitable tendencies were exploited to the tune of 1.3 billion robocalls to 67 million consumers. Some victims were called hourly, daily, or several times a week, in violation of robocall laws.
Michigan’s Attorney General, Dana Nessel, was part of the multi-jurisdiction effort. She said, “Robocall technology such as soundboards allows users to reach a significant target population, and when utilized for deceptive or misleading practices – especially in charitable solicitations – it unfortunately means a significant number of potential victims.”
The agencies charged, Associated Community Services and its subsidiaries, based in Southeast Michigan, agreed to settle the case for their role in representing fake charities, but most of the money is long gone. The sham charities claimed to support children, firefighters, and veterans. Any restitution collected will go into escrow and eventually go to real charities.
Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland
