Current:Home > MarketsCharity that allegedly gave just 1 cent of every $1 to cancer victims is sued for deceiving donors-LoTradeCoin
Charity that allegedly gave just 1 cent of every $1 to cancer victims is sued for deceiving donors
View Date:2024-12-23 21:09:30
The Women's Cancer Fund raised $18.3 million by vowing to help patients, telling donors that their money would help pay the living expenses of women going through treatment for the disease. But a new lawsuit from the FTC and 10 states allege that the bulk of the money instead went to pay the charity's president and for-profit fundraisers.
The lawsuit, filed on March 11 in federal court, alleges that the Women's Cancer Fund raised the money from 2017 to 2022 by making deceptive and misleading claims. In reality, the bulk of the donations went to the $775,139 salary of the charity's president, Gregory Anderson, and to pay for-profit fundraisers $15.55 million, as well as overhead expenses, the lawsuit alleges.
"[O]f the $18.25 million donated to the Women's Cancer Fund only $194,809 – roughly one percent – was spent directly on helping women with cancer," the lawsuit claims.
While charities incur overhead expenses, it's generally considered good practice to spend only a fraction of their budget on overhead, with CharityWatch giving its "highly efficient" rating to nonprofits that spend less than 25% on operating costs. The lawsuit alleges that donors who opened their wallets to give to the Women's Cancer Fund were deceived by the group's marketing efforts.
The Women's Cancer Fund, also known as Cancer Recovery Foundation International, also used the donations to pay for expenses like hotels and travel, the lawsuit alleges.
"Cancer Recovery Foundation International and Anderson abused the generosity of American donors in the most egregious way" said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, in a statement earlier this month. "The FTC is committed to aggressively pursuing such illegal conduct, which hurts donors and deprives legitimate charities of needed funding. We are grateful to our state partners for joining in this effort to protect the public.
The states that joined the lawsuit are: California, Florida, Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.
The Women's Cancer Fund did not immediately respond to CBS MoneyWatch's request for comment.
- In:
- Federal Trade Commission
Aimee Picchi is the associate managing editor for CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and personal finance. She previously worked at Bloomberg News and has written for national news outlets including USA Today and Consumer Reports.
TwitterveryGood! (93)
Related
- Stop What You're Doing—Moo Deng Just Dropped Her First Single
- Obama relatives settle racial bias dispute with private school in Milwaukee
- Community grieves 10-year-old student hit and killed by school bus in Missouri
- James Van Der Beek 'went into shock' over stage 3 colorectal cancer diagnosis
- Man killed by police in Minnesota was being sought in death of his pregnant wife
- Abortion-rights groups see mixed success in races for state supreme court seats
- Don’t Miss Wicked Stanley Cups at Target—Plus Magical Movie Merch From Funko Pop!, R.E.M. Beauty & More
- Watch as Rockefeller Christmas tree begins journey to NYC: Here's where it's coming from
- Miami Marlins hiring Los Angeles Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough as manager
- Ohio family builds 50,000-pound Stargate with 'dial-home device' to scan the cosmos
Ranking
- Walmart Planned to Remove Oven Before 19-Year-Old Employee's Death
- Horoscopes Today, November 8, 2024
- AP photos show the terror of Southern California wildfires and the crushing aftermath
- Joe Echevarria is Miami’s new president. And on the sideline, he’s the Hurricanes’ biggest fan
- FSU football fires offensive, defensive coordinators, wide receivers coach
- Meet Chloe East, the breakout star of new religious horror movie 'Heretic' with Hugh Grant
- Kohl’s unveils Black Friday plans: Here’s when customers can expect deals
- Bobby Allison, NASCAR Hall of Famer and 3-time Daytona 500 winner, dies at 86
Recommendation
-
Wildfire map: Thousands of acres burn near New Jersey-New York border; 1 firefighter dead
-
NYC man is charged with insurance fraud in staged car crash captured by dashcam
-
Wicked Star Ethan Slater Shares Similarities He Has With His Character Boq
-
Arizona Republican lawmaker Justin Heap is elected recorder for the state’s most populous county
-
Stressing over Election Day? Try these apps and tools to calm your nerves
-
New Democratic minority leader in Georgia Senate promises strong push for policy goals
-
Celery is one of our most underappreciated vegetables. Here's why it shouldn't be.
-
Hockey Hall of Fame inductions: Who's going in, how to watch