Trending
Criminals have no shame. In fact, some of them have become quite good at manipulating our better impulses to their own gain. Ohioans are giving people, and have come to recognize a few charitable organizations we believe we can trust with our support. For that reason, a group of five fraudsters chose to incorporate eight organizations that, according to state Attorney General Dave Yost, were carefully disguised scams.
Would you think twice about giving money to the American Cancer Society of Cincinnati Inc., or similarly named organizations from other cities in Ohio? Of course not. But according to a lawsuit filed by Yost, they are not the organizations we are meant to believe. They are scam charities.
"These scammers were pretending to be big-time charities to swindle money from Ohioans," Yost said. "But playtime is over, and the jig is up on your sham operation."
The fraudsters have been ordered to pay a combined $190,000 in civil penalties, and banned from associating with any charitable organization.
But what are the rest of us to do, if even an organization using the name "American Cancer Society" isn't safe?
While Yost's office continues its work, it appears the burden in on the rest of us to ensure we don't fall for these scams.