Tennessee family accused of spending $187M raised for cancer charities on themselves

Federal regulatory officials Tuesday accused a Tennessee family of spending more than $187 million collected for cancer charities on cars, gym memberships, cruise vacations, and college tuition. 

The Federal Trade Commission, in a federal lawsuit joined by all 50 states and the District of Columbia, said that James T. Reynolds Sr., his ex-wife and son raised the money through their various charities: The Cancer Fund of America in Knoxville, Tennessee, and its affiliated Cancer Support Services; The Breast Cancer Society in Mesa, Arizona; and the Children's Cancer Fund of America in Powell, Tennessee.

The charities hired telemarketers to collect $20 donations from people across the country, telling consumers that they provided financial aid and other support to cancer patients, including pain medication, transportation to chemotherapy visits and hospice care.

But little money made it to cancer patients, as the groups "operated as personal fiefdoms characterized by rampant nepotism, flagrant conflicts of interest, and excessive insider compensation" with none of the controls used by bona fide charities, the FTC said Tuesday.

Jessica Rich, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, declined to say whether authorities were pursuing a separate criminal investigation against the Reynolds family, saying only that the agency did not have the authority to do so. 

Via: Fox News

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[VIDEO] "Named one of the Top Scams of 2013" Who Loves Obamacare? Con Artists

Obamacare has been named one of the top scams of 2013.

Scammers are using “uncertainty” over Obamacare to trick Americans into giving them personal information, according to the Better Business Bureau.

Scammers call Americans and pretend to be government workers. The scammers then lie to the victims, telling them that they need a new Medicare or health insurance card. The Do Not Call list, Facebook, foreign currency, medical alerts, and online auctions are all ways that scammers are tricking Americans.

Via: WFB

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Morning Bell: The Obamacare Scams Are Already Starting

Heritage warned that the new Obamacare insurance exchanges could threaten your privacy—and it’s already happening, before the exchanges are even open.

In a new report, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee presented these shocking findings:

there are already numerous reports of scam artists posing as Navigators and Assisters to take advantage of people’s confusion about ObamaCare. According to recent news reports, scam artists are calling individuals and asking for information to sign them up for their “ObamaCare card,” are asking seniors for their personal information to verify their Medicare and Social Security status and are going door-to-door threatening people with prison time if they do not sign up on the spot. The Administration is keenly aware of these reports and concerns, but has thus far failed to take appropriate measures.

Even when it’s not malicious, the new Obamacare system—employing “navigators” who aren’t run through background checks or adequately trained—opens up a host of opportunities for identity theft. Last week, an employee of Minnesota’s insurance exchange (MNsure) emailed out the names and Social Security numbers of 2,400 insurance agents. The insurance broker who received the email said, “If this is happening now, how can clients of MNsure be confident their data is safe?”

Indeed.

Via: The Foundry

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