TELEMARKETING FRAUD
March 13, 2006
The company started by Mitch Gold, a California telemarketer who was convicted of fraud in 2002, continues to raise millions of dollars in the names of charitable causes but keeps nearly 93 percent of the money collected, reports The Orange County Register. Since Mr. Gold left his company in late 2000, it has raised $83-million in the name of charities such as the American Deputy Sheriffs’ Association, the Association for Disabled Firefighters, and the Junior Police Academy, yet has pocketed $76.7-million for the fund raisers and charity executives. Mr. Gold and the company’s employees declined to comment.