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Fraud Charges for New Jersey Horse Rescue
Source: Various
The trustees of NJ Horse Angels, a fundraising organization based in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, have been charged by state authorities with violating the state's charitable organization laws. The group had been collecting funds since September 2009 but it was not a registered charity in the state of New Jersey.
Trustees, Sharon Catalano-Crumb and her boyfriend, Frank Wikoff, raised close to $150,000 through appeals on social networking websites.
Catalano-Crumb used at least $60,000 of the organization's funds for personal expenses including shopping, meals, and gambling. Some of the funds were used to buy luxury items for her boyfriend, Wikoff, and some were sent to her son, who is in prison. Wikoff himself is a convicted felon.
Some of the donations were actually used to rescue and care for animals, but close to $10,000 has not yet been accounted for. Investigators are continuing their examination of the organization's activities.
The pair face both criminal and civil charges which seek to reimburse donors who numbered in the thousands.
People active in legitimate horse rescue organizations had been aware that NJ Horse Angels had not lived up to it's claims.
There is a video still posted on YouTube which shows many dozens of horses claimed to have been saved by the NJ Horse Angels.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TKjyimvJeo
The organization had over 4500 friends and followers on Facebook and operated under several different names which usually included the word 'angels.'
The trustees of NJ Horse Angels, a fundraising organization based in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, have been charged by state authorities with violating the state's charitable organization laws. The group had been collecting funds since September 2009 but it was not a registered charity in the state of New Jersey.
Trustees, Sharon Catalano-Crumb and her boyfriend, Frank Wikoff, raised close to $150,000 through appeals on social networking websites.
Catalano-Crumb used at least $60,000 of the organization's funds for personal expenses including shopping, meals, and gambling. Some of the funds were used to buy luxury items for her boyfriend, Wikoff, and some were sent to her son, who is in prison. Wikoff himself is a convicted felon.
Some of the donations were actually used to rescue and care for animals, but close to $10,000 has not yet been accounted for. Investigators are continuing their examination of the organization's activities.
The pair face both criminal and civil charges which seek to reimburse donors who numbered in the thousands.
People active in legitimate horse rescue organizations had been aware that NJ Horse Angels had not lived up to it's claims.
There is a video still posted on YouTube which shows many dozens of horses claimed to have been saved by the NJ Horse Angels.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TKjyimvJeo
The organization had over 4500 friends and followers on Facebook and operated under several different names which usually included the word 'angels.'
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