Breast Cancer Charity Called A Sham; NY Attorney General Cuomo Alleges It Duped Donors

The “Coalition for Breast Cancer Cures” duped donors with fraudulent solicitations, made unauthorized charges to donor credit cards, and pocketed funds for personal expenses, according to N.Y. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo has obtained a court order temporarily stopping all soliciting by the charity and freezing all of its assets. 

According to Cuomo, the charity is run by David and Mindy Winston of Great Neck and other members of the Winston family. The Cuomo lawsuit alleges that in the past two years the Winstons duped New Yorkers out of over $500,000 by falsely claiming donations would support the fight against breast cancer. Instead, Cuomo contends, funds have been spent on luxury shopping, travel, restaurants, and other personal living expenses.
 
The lawsuit alleges that the Winstons falsely claimed they were a charity, mailed phony invoices to trick potential donors, and repeatedly charged donors’ credit cards without authorization. The lawsuit charges the Winstons, their for-profit fundraising firm – The Resource Hub, Inc., d/b/a The Resource Center (“Resource Center”) – and CBCC with engaging in a scheme to defraud as well as violating New York State’s not-for-profit and charitable solicitation laws.
 
The Attorney General’s lawsuit alleges that the donations collected by CBCC or Resource Center are not used for breast cancer or for any other charitable cause, but are instead used for the Winstons’ personal expenses. The investigation allegedly uncovered expenditures of charitable funds for:
 

• Over $3,700 in personal hotel and airfare expenses;
• Over $5,000 at restaurants including Peter Luger Steakhouse, Caesars Palace Mesa Grill, and Gotham Bar and Grill;
• Over $7,700 in retail purchases at stores such as Louis Vuitton, Victoria’s Secret, Home Depot, Best Buy, Costco, CVS, Loehmann’s, and Target;
• Over $8,000 for sorority dues and other university expenses and fees;
• Over $1,300 for a spring break travel package;
• Thousands of dollars on groceries, Netflix, and cable television.

The lawsuit alleges that:  The Winstons used a combination of telephone calls and letter mailings to solicit donations by check, credit card, and debit card. The Winstons also mailed phony pledge invoices and reminder notices to trick people into thinking they had made pledges. As part of the scheme, the Winstons used donors’ credit card information to make multiple unauthorized charges following an initial donation, even after complaints and demands that charges be reversed. Some donors suffered over $1,000 in unauthorized charges.
 
According to the Attorney General’s lawsuit: The Winstons made concerted efforts to create the impression that the organization was a legitimate charity with proper governance. They falsely claimed that CBCC was recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization and included a fake “Non-Profit Tax-ID Number” on all correspondence with donors. CBCC is not registered with the Attorney General as a charitable organization and the Resource Center is not registered with the Attorney General as a professional fundraiser, as required by law.