Category: Phony Vet Charities

Bert sends us a link to CNN which reports that four people were arrested in New Albany, Indiana for scamming well-meaning folks with their phony charity named the Wounded Warrior Fund (not the better-known Wounded Warrior Project) out of over $150,000. The four are Joanie Watson, Thomas Johnson and Amy Lou Bennett led by 44-year-old James Linville;

Linville worked with three associates to defraud more than 1,000 victims and collect more than $150,000 in traceable donations over six years, according to investigators. The indictment alleges they told donors 100% of their contributions would go to veterans and their families. Investigators say no money went toward veterans.

The Justice Department publicly announced the charges Friday morning. “The acts of these fraudsters have eroded the trust and good will of those who want to contribute to legitimate fundraising organizations, including those that support our veterans,” US Attorney Josh Minkler said in a statement on Friday. “Our American veterans have dutifully served this country through many wars and deserve better than to be deprived of donations from giving donors,” Minkler said.

The four are suspected of using aliases to make cold calls and flyers and to seek business donations to help veterans and active-duty service members and their families in need — payable in cash, checks, gift cards or in-kind donations, according to law enforcement.

The Secret Service told CNN that none of the four had ever served in the military, even though Linville made cold calls identifying himself as “Sergeant Bob Davis”. They each face 20 years for 227 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

They are also accused of calling local businesses to have food, hotels and services “comped” for veterans. “The free hotel rooms were often used for members of the conspiracy and others to engage in drug activity,” a law enforcement source with knowledge of the case tells CNN.

Those non-cash donations added up, said Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel. “This organization — this fake organization — was asking people for food donations, for hotel rooms for veterans, for donations from different businesses that would be raffled or organized off for this, what people thought was a legitimate organization,” he said.

Linville, who has a criminal history that includes drugs, check fraud and domestic battery, left threatening messages for investigators;

In July 2017, Linville told the detective, “You’ve got some problems coming, bud…you’ve got major problems…put me in jail, I dare you.”

Linville did not stop. “I’ll make a mockery of your court. I’m a sovereign citizen, mother***er. American born sovereign citizen.

Your f*****g state laws don’t apply to me in any way,” Linville told the detective on his recorded voicemail. “I will make a mockery of your f*****g court. And I’ll destroy the sheriff’s department.”

I wonder how he’s getting along with LEOs today.

Dumbass.

The Daily Caller reports that Antonio Colmenares, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel, was arrested for lining his pockets with the money he made from selling things meant for homeless veterans in the Miami area. He was the volunteer director of the Miami branch of Florida Veterans Foundation and named the 2017 Military Service Person of the Year by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce;

Prosecutors say that Colmenares sold off $300,000 of meals, blankets, sleeping bags, cots and backpacks that were donated to the Florida Veterans Foundation in 2015. They allege that Colmenares deposited $46,800 in a personal bank account, Task & Purpose reports.

“These donated items should have gone to help feed and warm veterans struggling to get back on their feet — instead they were sold to fatten the pockets of those charged with preying on the good intentions of others,” Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi lamented.

Colmenares was arrested and booked in a Miami-Dade jail on Wednesday, charged with felony first-degree grand theft. Another Florida Veterans Foundation volunteer, 60-year-old Antonio Sabatier, was also arrested and faces the same charge.

From a local interview a few months ago;

“What we’ve got going here is truly an attempt to help our veterans get off the streets,” said Lt. Col. Antonio Colmenares, the Director of Veteran Services in the City of Miami.

“It’s helping me out considerably as far as me getting my act together and a lot of things I don’t have due to the fact that I’m homeless,” said veteran Arthur Woods.

Nice.

Thanks to Tim for the link.

Bert sends us a link to the story of Christopher Edwards from Polk County, Florida, who started a vet charity to help veterans pay their electric bills and to help them install solar panels on their homes. Instead, there were no solar panels and it appears that Edwards just pocketed the money he collected, also fleecing some well-intentioned local businesses who made donations for raffles;

Edwards claimed to have business relationships with agencies including TECO and Duke Energy, Haas announced in a media release.

Edwards is accused of creating social media accounts and a website to promote fundraising events for the fraud charity. He sold raffle tickets but apparently never awarded the prize winners.

One of Edwards victims is Scott Owens. Owens is a disabled vet who says Edwards promised to pay his power bills, but instead he bounced two checks and literally left him in the dark.

“He never took care of it and the power company shut my power off,” said Owens.

Nice scam though. Who wouldn’t want to give money to veterans and to renewable energy efforts?

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office tells the story of their arrest of Christopher P. Blake, the founder of Second Chance Veterans Foundation. According to the sheriff’s office, Blake has been making false promises and bouncing checks all over the place. The sheriff initiated the investigation when Blake took a “selfie” with Sheriff Chitwood and the sheriff started getting complaints from the public. Read the details at the sheriff’s office Facebook page;

We wrote about John Thomas Burch about a year ago when he was busted for pretending to be a Special Forces officer who had been in Vietnam. He was actually a JAG officer for the special forces unit in Vietnam and never so much as attended the Army’s Basic Airborne Course, let alone received any special forces training. Earlier this month, he was charged with using his charity, the National Vietnam Veterans Foundation, as his personal ATM machine.

Chief Tango sends us a link to the Washington Post which reports he pleaded guilty;

The former head of D.C. charity meant to benefit Vietnam veterans pleaded guilty to wire fraud after embezzling about $150,000, federal prosecutors said.

[…]

Burch faces up to 18 months in prison, prosecutors said, and a fine of up to $55,000, among other penalties. He is scheduled to be sentenced in October.

He raised millions of dollar, spending pennies on veterans – all while working as a lawyer for the VA. See ya!

ABC Action News in Tampa Bay, Florida investigates their local charity – Veterans in Need Foundation, Inc. in Pompano Beach and they find convicted violent offenders, sex offenders and various criminals set up aggressively collecting donations. According to Charity Navigator, they raised $448,969 in 2014, the last time they filed an IRS Form 990 as a 501(c)(3) organization.

Visitors to Florida’s rest stops and welcome centers give hundreds-of-thousands of dollars a year to the Veterans in Need Foundation, a non-profit charity based in Pompano Beach, FL.

Not all of the people soliciting spent time in the military.

Koleff admitted he’s not a veteran, but refers to himself as a 12 year volunteer for Veterans in Need.

“I just come out here and raise money,” said David Tussie, whose identification card indicates he is a non-veteran solicitor and a supervisor.

Donald Vincent, who we found nodding off in his chair outside a rest area along I-75, wouldn’t give us his full name, but we learned who he was from the permit issued.

Vincent is a registered sex offender from Broward County, where the charity is based.

Nick Koleff, also from Broward County, served time for attempted sexual battery, false imprisonment and multiple DUIs. .

“They do a background check on us to make sure we’re legit,” Koleff told us.

A legit what?

The organization doesn’t have a physical address, only a PO Box at a UPS Store. The last time they had an actual office, county health officials found men living in those offices with no bathing facilities.

Despite these shady elements, the state of Florida issues them a permit to solicit every year;

So, if you’re traveling through Florida this season, beware of these cats.