I am not here to slam a respectable charity. I am here to slam World Vision, Feed the Children for their association with SwipeAuctions. Why would any honorable charity want to be linked to such a scamming website as this? I found some of the answers today and would like to share here:
SwipeAuctions and World Vision, an unholy alliance?
I hate scamming of any type. I hate scamming online merchants and especially hate scamming charities that are sworn to help the needy but instead use many of the funds raised to supplement their manager’s lavish lifestyle and greed. After some research today it would appear that the unholy alliance between Jesse Willms’s Swipe Auctions Penny Gambling Website and World Vision would not be so far fetched as I first thought.
Is it possible that World Vision has a very checkered past and present, with allegations of frauds and scamming? Does it seem to be a partnership of like minds melding into a natural combining of unscrupulous talent? You decide whether this type of fundraising is what you would expect from any charitable foundation. Just take a look at information found today following a Google search of “World Vision children's charity scam”
http://www.google.ca/#hl=en&q=World+Vision+children%27s+charity+scam&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=World+Vision+children%27s+charity+scam&gs_rfai=&fp=1&cad=b
http://www.alertnet.org/db/an_art/58388/2009/05/10-194457-1.htm
http://scamoftheday.com/wordpress/2010/03/10/part-time-job-opportunity-world-vision/
From: “Larry Probus”<
[email protected]>
Reply-To: <
[email protected]>
Subject: Part Time Job Opportunity – WORLD VISION
Date: Wed, 3 Mar 2010 22:39:23 +0100
To: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hello, My name is Larry Probus, i work for ”THE WORLD VISION CHARITY ORGANIZATION”.I would be
very interested in offering you a part-time paying opportunity.See the attachment for detailed
information on this offer.
Larry Probus
Chief Financial Officer
www.worldvision.org.uk
(Information included in this application form is between you and me, and the full name and contact info should be included as it should be written on the payments being issued over to you, you should also include a valid phone number for easy contact)
ATTESTATION
According to how you have been briefed earlier by me. You are required and mandated to receive funds on behalf of the above mentioned organization. You are to deduct 10% of all funds processed on a particular order and forward the balance payment via Western Union Money Transfer as I would be instructing you on receipt of my payments. You will notify me a week ahead if eventually you want to discontinue this so as to terminate all payment coming your way to avoid conflict. In agreement to this kindly append signature below
Larry Probus
Chief Financial Officer
……Building a better world for children
http://208.86.2.178/blog.php?b=8106
The World Vision Charity Organization
Posted 01-15-2010 at 12:01 PM by I Am
“Hello, My name is Joe Howard, the chief Financial Officer for The World Vision Charity Organization. I would be very interested in offering you a part-time paying opportunity in which you could earn a lot. This opportunity would be based on contract and commission terms and would involve quite a handful of trust and honesty.”
“This way, I will instruct our donors to issue and make these Payments (Money Orders and cashier checks) out to you in your name, you could then process them easily, deduct ten percent ( 10%) of the total amount of each payment you receive as your commission for the great service you have rendered in support to saving life's in the third world and then have the rest wired to our Organization via Western Union Money Transfer. The Western Union Service fee should also be deducted alongside your 10% commission charge before having the rest wired via Western Union.”
(Information included in this application form is between you and me, and the full name and contact info should be included as it should be written on the payments being issued over to you, you should also include a valid phone number for easy contact)
Joe Howard
Chief Financial Officer
...Building a better world for children
It is my opinion formed from reading these two job offers from World Vision’s Chief Financial Officers, that they are in serious need of a marketing strategy that would at least appear to be less scamming and criminal. Maybe Jesse Willms could exchange some of his expertise in marketing for a better public image as being a very charitable, ethical, and honorable man, if this transaction has not taken place yet.
I was interested in finding that the charitable organizations have watchdogs too, not much dissimilar to the penny auctions watchdogs that oversee these auction sites. I wonder why our credit card company Visa hasn’t issued a similar ALERT to Jesse Willms scams??
http://www.ministrywatch.com/
Donor Alert!
Feed the Children Fires Accountants
Ministry Fires Two of its Own Accountants After They Report Potential Fraud or Illegalities to the Ministry’s Board.
http://www.ministrywatch.com/pdf/MWDA-Feed-the-Children.pdf
Feed the Children, long accustomed to controversy yet still the largest ministry in the MinistryWatch.com database with nearly $1.2 billion in revenues, is being sued by its former Controller and another staff accountant for wrongful termination. According to the Oklahoman’s website, the two accountants claim that they were wrongly fired after going over their boss’s head to report what they believed to be the Chief Financial Officer’s intentional refusal to pay $1.1 million in taxes owed to the state of Oklahoma. Thus far the ministry and its Chief Financial Officer have not responded to these allegations. This is the sixth lawsuit the ministry has faced this year, including a lawsuit from five former board members who were relieved of their duties and then fought for and regained control of the ministry. As part of a settlement concerning the leadership of the organization, their news release states, “Under the terms of the settlement, Larry and Frances Jones will relinquish operational controls, giving them more time to continue with the organization in the capacity as spokespersons with responsibilities for generating support for the organization. The board of directors will continue to be in controlof the organization.” Feed the Children has a history of controversy and accounting concerns, including the revelation that a former CFO once falsified the ministry’s audited financial statements over the course of two years. Also in the last year, an employee of its South African subsidiary has been accused of embezzling $100, 000 and it was also suggested in internal memos that Larry Jones own son has had work performed on his home with ministry funds and had a ministry credit card even though he was not a ministry employee. There are many other allegations as well, but there is no need to go into all of them as what has already been noted is sufficient to justify a Donor Alert on this ministry. It is clear that this is a ministry that is still struggling with acting in an upright manner, even after its recent court-mandated governance overhaul. Donors who have contributed over $1 billion to Feed the Children should prayerfully consider redirecting their donations to other similar Christian ministries that have a history of operating with integrity, efficiency and transparency.
http://boboy.net/2008/11/world-vision-a-huge-big-fraud/
I think we all know World Vision, it’s one of big charity organisations around the world. They promote sponsoring child in third world countries, supporting in health and education. In Australia alone, I very often see World Vision stalls in many Malls and their ads on the TV. Many of my friends are also participating in sponsoring a child through World Vision. But what I just saw today on ABC Foreign Correspondent just shocked me, speechless, if it was true.
