Charity Telemarketers Agree to Pay $18.8-Million
April 1, 2010 | Read Time: 1 minute
Two New Jersey men who ran what federal investigators termed a massive national fund-raising scam have agreed to pay an $18.8-million fine and give up telemarketing and charity solicitation, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Authorities said telemarketers with Scott Pasch and David Keezer’s firm, Civic Development Group, asserted that the charities involved employed them directly and would get every cent donated, when the fund-raising firm was actually reaping 85 percent of the proceeds.
The civil penalty is the highest in the Federal Trade Commission’s history. No criminal charges have been filed against the suspects, who will pay the fine by forfeiting assets that include two seven-figure homes, paintings by Van Gogh and Picasso, and several luxury cars.
