A sham charity operation that siphoned about $3 million from New York residents since 2008 has been shuttered and its founder banned from charity fundraising, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced Wednesday.
Schneiderman joined with the Federal Trade Commission and 49 other states to announce the closure of Cancer Fund of America Inc. and Cancer Support Services Inc.
The leader of both the sham charities, James Reynolds, was also banned from profiting from any charity fundraiser in the future, Schneiderman said in a statement.
With the fake charities, and two others that were settled in 2015, Reynolds allegedly bilked more than $187 million from donors nationwide, including nearly $3 million from New York residents.
“Sham charities betray the generosity of donors and do a disservice to the causes they claim to support,” Schneiderman said in a statement. “We are proud to join with regulators across the country in this historic action.”
Under the settlement, the two charities will be permanently closed and their assets will be liquidated, Schneiderman said in a statement.
