N.J. Man Jailed for Cheating Charities on Fundraiser Prizes

A man from Woodland Park, N.J., was sentenced Monday to three years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $770,000 to nonprofit groups to which he promised but failed deliver prizes to be auctioned at fundraisers, The Record of northern New Jersey reports.

Gregory Ciccone, 37, pleaded guilty in January to wire fraud and filing a false tax return. Federal prosecutors said Mr. Ciccone’s company, GAC Consulting Group, collected up-front retainers and commissions from charities to provide auction items such as a walk-on role on the TV show “Desperate Housewives” and a round of golf at August National, but the high bidders never received most of the prizes.

Authorities said Mr. Ciccone defrauded at least 17 groups, including a New Jersey school for autistic children, a Florida nonprofit that serves cancer victims, and organizations in New York that fund research on leukemia, lymphoma, and diabetes.