Four cancer charities are being sued by the entire country and the Federal Trade Commission over allegations that the charities were shams, scamming people out of more than $187 million.
Roughly 58 law enforcement partners from every state and Washington, D.C., filed the charges on Tuesday against Cancer Fund of America, Cancer Support Services, its president James Reynolds Sr. and its former president and chief financial officer Kyle Effler; Children's Cancer Fund of America and its president and executive director, Rose Perkins; and The Breast Cancer Society and its executive director and former president, James Reynolds II.
The Federal Trade Commission, along with every other state, filed a lawsuit against four cancer charities over claims the charities were shams and it bilked more than $187 million from customers, said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer
| Federal Trade Commission
Perkins, Reynolds II and Effler have all agreed to settlements; they are prohibited from fundraising, charity management and oversight of charitable assets. Their charities will be completely dissolved, the FTC said. The other two charities and Reynolds Sr. still face charges.
“Cancer is a debilitating disease that impacts millions of Americans and their families every year," Jessica Rich, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said. "The defendants’ egregious scheme effectively deprived legitimate cancer charities and cancer patients of much-needed funds and support. The defendants took in millions of dollars in donations meant to help cancer patients, but spent it on themselves and their fundraisers. I’m pleased that the FTC and our state partners are acting to end this appalling scheme.”