The mind-blowing case of Axact fake degree scam had been the hottest topic of discussion for the last couple of days. “It is a breathtaking scam,” a former FBI agent commented in The New York Times article. Though Axact was not able to explain the allegations with sound counter-arguments, the unusual media attention has brought Pakistan in the line of fire. It is often taken as an accepted fact that such scams can happen in under-developed or third world countries only. The truth is mastermind scammers can be born in any part of the world. If you think Axact case was outrageous, check out $187M Cancer Charity fraud.
A Tenessee family in USA, Jame T. Reynolds Sr., his ex-wife and son, raised more than $187 million for various cancer 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 money never reached any of the cancer patients rather the family spent 98% of the charity on cars, gym memberships, cruise vacations, and college tuitions.
The charities hired telemarketers who would convince people all across America to donate $20 for cancer patients. They would tell consumers about non-existent facilities being provided to the cancer patients such as financial aid and support, pain medications, transportation for chemotherapy visits and hospital care.
The Cancer Fund for America website which claimed Reynolds to be a US Army Medical Corps went down after Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against the charity. Reynolds blamed government’s scrutiny for the downfall of charity saying, “While the organization, its officers and directors have not been found guilty of any allegations of wrongdoing, and the government has not proven otherwise, our board of directors has decided that it does not help those who we seek to serve, and those who remain in need, for us to engage in a highly publicized, expensive, and distracting legal battle around our fundraising practices.”
The donors should not expect any kind of refund since most of the money has been spent on personal pleasures.
Food for thought, the wrong can happen anywhere, but associating the wrong with one particular subject or judging the whole crowd for one man’s doing is an ethical crime itself.
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