America's 'Second-Worst Charity' to Shut Down
It took some time, but it finally happened: Cancer Fund of America, one of four cancer charities the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) named in a civil complaint last May, has agreed to shut down. The Tennessee-based charity allegedly was part of a scam that bilked donors out of more than $187 million.
It is the last of the four charities to cease operations. Via CNN:
According to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Phoenix, the charity run by James Reynolds Sr. has agreed to go out of business and be operated by a court-appointed receiver for the time being.
The agreement is not yet binding because the attorneys general have to sign off in writing.
The dissolution of this final "family" of cancer charities, listed by CNN and the Tampa Bay Times as some of the worst in the United States, comes after years of reports in which CNN tracked down fake donations [and] faulty record keeping, and [confronted] charity directors for collecting millions in donations without showing any real benefit to people suffering with cancer.
Two of the charities named in the initial lawsuit—Children's Cancer Fund of America and The Breast Cancer Society—shut down immediately after the suit was announced, but Cancer Fund of America and Cancer Support Services, its fundraising arm, hung on. According to the Tampa Bay Times, Cancer Fund of America was the largest of the four, collecting almost $100 million of the charities' $187 million total. It was also the worst offender, spending just 1 percent of its revenue on direct cash aid for cancer patients.
Those numbers landed Cancer Fund of America on the Tampa Bay Times "America's Worst Charities" list for 2013, where the nonprofit was named the second-worst charity behind Kids Wish Network. Children's Cancer Fund of America placed ninth.
