The federal government Tuesday accused four cancer charities of being a total sham.
The Federal Trade Commission and Florida's attorney general say the groups misspent $187 million in donations.
In a first-of-its-kind investigation, the FTC and the attorneys general of all 50 states Tuesday collectively shut down four so-called "sham charities."
According to the federal complaint announced Tuesday, the Cancer Fund of America, Cancer Support Services, Children's Cancer Fund of America and the Breast Cancer Society pulled off the largest charity fraud in history.
"The defendants falsely portrayed themselves as legitimate charities with substantial programs that provided direct support to cancer patients throughout the U.S," said Jessica Rich, of the FTC.
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In reality, investigators say 80 percent of every donation went back to the groups that solicited the money. The other cash went to things like cars, college tuition, cruises and dating websites.
The groups were controlled by the same network of people and were led by James Renyolds Sr. Collectively, they spent more than $187 million in donated money.
"Profiting off of women and children with cancer, if you didn't know any better you'd think someone was making up the most deplorable scam ever," said Mark Herring, Virginia attorney general.
Two of the charities agreed to settle the charges and dissolve before the complaint was filed.
Last year, the Cancer Fund of America was placed second on the list of America's Worst Charities.
The Florida Department of Agriculture tracks local charities. Commissioner Adam Putnam said they've worked with lawmakers to strengthen state laws and hold charities accountable.
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