Telemarketers Lying for Charities Prompt Call for U.S. Probe

The connection between major national charities and telemarketers should be investigated by the Federal Trade Commission for possibly abusing tax-exempt status or breaking the law, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Herb Kohl say.

“I am writing to ask that the FTC investigate reports that telemarketers acting on behalf of well-respected charities are deploying deceptive tactics to induce individuals to donate money that is kept mostly, and sometimes entirely, by the telemarketer,” Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, wrote to the FTC on Nov. 30. “These practices are unethical and in some circumstances may be illegal.”