Pennsylvania’s top law enforcement official recently announced a settlement with a company that has been taking advantage of the generosity of residents across the country.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro was joined by 38 colleagues and the Federal Trade Commission entered into an agreement with Associated Community Services and related defendants.
Although ACS shut down in September of 2019, in the three years previous the company is accused of placing nearly 62 million calls to phone numbers in Pennsylvania asking for donations to charities. The company collected more than $110 million through this method and kept about 85% of the money for themselves.
After ACS shut down, senior managers formed a different company and used the ACS lists to continue make calls. The settlement requires both companies to dissolve operations and permanently cease soliciting for organizations that claim to be charities. A $500,000 penalty will go towards actual charities harmed by the practices of this scam.
