It wasnt the usual automated call, and hearing a human voice kept me on the line. Local organizations that raise money on behalf of San Diego law enforcement include: Star/Pal for San Diego Police, which provides educational and recreational services for inner-city youth, and the San Diego County Deputy Sheriffs Foundation, which provides support services for sheriffs personnel and families. generic photos, there is no real content validating that they do anything to actually support the police. Getting 3 to 5 calls a day from 315-410-0874 phone number. It only means they do not seek to make a profit on their activities. This beacon provides an assessment of a charity's financial health (financial efficiency, sustainability, and trustworthiness) and its commitment to governance practices and policies. In a nationwide, federal-state crackdown on fraudulent telemarketers claiming to help police, firefighters, and veterans, the Federal Trade Commission, together with 61 Attorneys General, Secretaries of State, and other law enforcers of 49 states and the District of Columbia, today announced Operation False Charity. After further investigation, they are not approved by the better business bureau and they have nothing but horrible reviews . Several donors said they never would have given money to the group if they knew it would pay for Trump advertisements, including 70-year-old Susan Durie, a self-described bleeding heart liberal Democrat from Los Angeles who donated around $600 and said she felt like a victim of a scam since she thinks she was misled into believing that her donation would go to local police. The fund is the third in a series of outrageous attempts by founders David Dierks and Phil LeConte to extort money from generous Americans under the pretext of donations to the nation's police forces. He paused for a few seconds and said "okay, bye" and hung up the phone. The Better Business Bureau says if anyone calls or knocks asking you to help the police, the best thing you can do is ask them for information before you agree to donate. In about 7 years (through March 2018), the union and relief fund spent a total of approximately $102.3 million, of which $82.3 million went towards fundraising. We support police officers who risk their lives daily protecting our communities. Dont send your money to a national group collecting for causes that may not always be clear. 2023 Cable News Network. AARP Membership LIMITED TIME FLASH SALE. The website soliciting funds for Arpaio says, Liberals have targeted Sheriff Joe Arpaio with a multi-million dollar lawsuit (that could even result in jail time) because he was upholding the law of the land.. I was contacted in Wilton, CT by representatives of the National Police Support Fund. Get a FREE subscription to AARP The Magazine. Just change the state to your state and verify the charity is listed with your state attorney general's office, or another regulatory office (each state has different requirements). And it's very easy to catch the eye of someone.". When a charitys fundraiser calls to ask you for a donation, they have to follow some rules: A: We engage in activities aimed at supporting our law enforcement officers and standing up for their rights and values throughout the political process. A warning tonight about a phone and mail scam asking for donations. But these telemarketers bombarding our phone lines? So what happened to the other approximately 33% of . Have a problem?Send me an email, at jmatarese@wcpo.com or message me on Facebook. National Police Support Fund is a national political organization organized under Section 527 of the IRS Tax Code. Gotten calls like this? ThePAC, organized by Zachary Bass, spent 90% of its take on fundraising, campaign filings show. The National Police Support Fund. The application also included the name Police Officers Defense Coalition, as well as the Police Officers Defense Alliance. The result: a rise in super PACs that use sympathetic-sounding causes primarily to line their own pockets (the FEC has called this subset scam PACs). The application also included the name Police Officers Defense Coalition, as well as the Police Officers Defense Alliance. They count on local press coverage and a quick website. National Police Support Fund is dedicated to providing a united voice for true Americans who support our nation's law enforcement officers. He initially solicited $95 and eventually said he would accept a $15 contribution as an offer of goodwill on my part. National Police Support Fund is a grassroots political organization that is committed to aligning the interests and needs of police officers with the publics issues and concerns within the national political process. Please note that many legitimate local (and unaffiliated) police foundations and organizations may solicit donations from local communities via telephone and mail. She said she was told the group was a charity benefiting police and troopers. The Wilmington Police Department has no association with this organization and we have never even heard of them, stated a May release from the department. Jessica Levinson, a Loyola Law School professor specializing in campaign finance and political corruption, said the fact that the super PAC had spent such a huge proportion of its contributions on its own expenses was jaw dropping and that it was equally concerning to hear that fundraisers were going after the elderly who they may consider easy marks.. With the generous support of readers like you, Times of San Diego publishes timely and accurate news coverage for a better-informed community. We found a website for them, but it gives very little information about the organization and their mission. The National Police Support Fund is a national coalition committed to promoting the interests of America's. Type of a scam Charity. Do police call for donations? Most of the money raised went to telemarketing 87 percent and other expenses. What should we investigate next? The National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) is a coalition of police unions and associations from across the United States and was organized for the purpose of advancing the interests of America's law enforcement officers through legislative advocacy, political action and education. If you get one of these calls, do not donate money just hang . Your email address will not be published. He instead provided me with their national number. In the case of National Police Support Fund, we accept contributions and make expenditures in order to influence the selection, nomination, election, or appointment of candidates to federal, state, and local offices. As our conversation continued, the caller would lower the amount of funding he was requesting. As a result, he had a positive outlook on military and all law enforcement officers, Busse said, but he never expressed any particular interest in supporting the police through financial donations.. Oh, god, she said upon being contacted by CNN and learning how the money was spent, Im supposed to be smart, but boy was I a dope.. Contributions are not tax deductible. The websites describe his career in law enforcement and his role as the creator of the police officers safety act legislation carried by former San Diego Congressman Randy Duke Cunningham. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The call was spoofed to appear to be from [a] Montana phone number, he wrote, noting that the caller did not identify the group as a political action committee, or super PAC, and telling his followers that it was not a nonprofit so donations are not tax deductible. UPDATE 2020-10-29: Another new call from 585-206-3552 with a similar pre-recorded voice auto-responder identifying as 'Jeff Scott' with the National Police Support Fund. It said callers were soliciting support for police officers but that the group was actually connected to a political action committee. "As Pennsylvanians look to support [] Gifts to actual charities are donations to PACs, which sometimes sound like charities, are not. Never disclose personal information. Or follow the simplest rule: Never give to anyone over the phone, said Margot Saunders, senior counsel for the National Consumer Law Center. That way, you avoid all of . Getting 3 to 5 calls a day from 315-410-0874 phone number. If the potential donors suspected they had given to the group before, the callers were instructed to say: I have no way of knowing because we feel that donations are given from the heart, not the hand, so we keep all donation records confidential, according to the FAQ. National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. Now those same anarchists that rioted and assaulted law enforcement officers are using the Taliban playbook by destroying public statues and monuments while advocating for defunding law enforcement agencies, a narrator states in a video from July, as protests continued across the country. See the metrics below for more information. In telemarketing calls, DPSF fundraisers told people that donations would be used for grants to disabled officers and to the families of officers slain in the line of duty. proudly complies with state regulations and required disclosures. Sara Kemerer of the . And Law Enforcement for a Safer America appears to be cashing in. Money donated to this group might be used for political purposes and will not be used for direct help to police or troopers, Fox wrote. Bass, who set up several other super PACs, declined to comment. If you want fundraisers to stop calling, ask them to put you on the charitys do not call list. I told him that I had some questions for him before I would donate. Simple: less scrutiny. The Police Officers Defense Alliance, for example, raised $3.2 million in 2020, and The American Police Officers Alliance raised $4.3 million. Eagerly he asked if I was comfortable with that amount. That means of a $35 donation, no more than $3.50 goes to their stated cause. Tax records show the Fotis organization that phoned me raised $75,000 in 2021, up from $50,000 the year before. He said that although it is more expensive for super PACs to solicit small donations which is what this one is doing spending so much on operations and so little on political activities is unusual. National Police Association Inc. has earned a 60% for the Accountability & Finance beacon. They improvise and evolve to stay one step ahead of unsuspecting donors. When a solicitor for one of these groups calls a prospective donor the pitch will include the truthful statement that they are a nonprofit organization. Please let me know if there are any actions ScamPulse.com suggests I take other than ignore any future requests. We are entering the crucial last minutes of our ongoing struggle to defend police officers. In the first half of 2021, this organization reported donations of $4.3 million; expenditures were just under $4.2 million, the bulk of this going to overhead fundraising, lawyers, lead lists and so on. Getting 3 to 5 calls a day from 315-410-0874 phone number. One woman received a call from the . I told him that there is no such thing as a National Police Trust Fund. Our free newsletter is delivered at 8 a.m. daily. The Better Business Bureau is warning about an organization that calls itself the National Police Support Fund which, despite soliciting contributions from St. Louis-area donors, isn't . The cause sounds worthy: Please support your local firefighters (or police officers), the caller implores. President Trump pardoned the sheriff even after the Department of Justice described Arpaio as being responsible for the worst case of racial profiling in U.S. history. Follow John on Instagram @johnmataresemoney, For more consumer news and money saving advice, go to www.dontwasteyourmoney.com. That same tax year, the International Union of Police Associations gave 10 students pursuing advanced degrees in law enforcement an average of $2,500 apiece. An image from Law Enforcement For A Safer America PAC's Facebook page. 7:35 AM EDT, Fri October 16, 2020. With this in mind, the midterm election saw a new partnership between us, the National Police Support Fund, and the. Watch out for a new "police support fund" scam. This organization spends the vast majority of its donations on children. Not authorized by any candidate or . While there are no requirements dictating the percentage of money that must go toward political activities, campaign finance expert Rob Pyers has dubbed the group a Scam PAC because of its high operating expenses and negligible political spending. The union is run by a retired police detective, and it is affiliated with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the countrys biggest federation of unions, which did not respond to requests for comment. We strive to engage the public through political grassroots activity to support political interests that promote officer's interests. "The National Police Support Fund is neither a 501(c)3 nor a 501(c)4 organization, but rather a political organization organized under Section 527 of the IRS Tax Code. Many of the other complaints to the FTC about the political committee and its related groups said fundraisers used spoofed numbers and violated the law by calling them even though they were on the Do Not Call list, while others said they had been misled or even harassed by fundraisers. Entire local police unions, which negotiate collective bargaining agreements for their members, can choose to affiliate with the group. Registration with any of these state agencies does not imply endorsement, approval or recommendation by any state. Up until the latest tax year when the groups appear to have changed how they categorize certain expenditures the pattern was largely the same from year to year: A small number of families received a couple thousand dollars apiece top employees of the union received more than $100,000 apiece and tens of millions went to telemarketers. The solution, the letter says, is clear: Give our law enforcement officers the crime prevention tools they need. That is equivalent to 2.7 percent of the $2.7 million the organization raised from donors that year, according to its federal tax return. You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. . He could not answer. . Lots of different special interest groups are nonprofits, including some private businesses that pay their executives quite well. The Police and Troopers Relief Foundation (PTRF) is a special program within the Law Enforcement Officers Relief Fund (LEORF), established by the International Union of Police Associations. Concerns of Police Survivors. And some are outright scams. Alexandria, VA. National Police Support Fund and United Police Fund came together this November to urge Northern Virginians to get out the vote in, National Police Support Fund, Inc.Office/Mailing Address:2800 Eisenhower Drive Suite 220Alexandria, VA 22314, Donation Processing Center:PO Box 26248Alexandria, VA 22313-2648, Phone: (571) 364-6520Email: info@nationalpolicesupportfund.com, By providing your phone number, you are consenting to receive calls and SMS/MMS msgs, including autodialed and automated calls and texts using prerecorded voice, to that number from the National Police Support Fund.
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