Department of Law Department of Law

News from 120 Broadway The State Capitol

New York, NY 10271 Albany, NY 12224

Attorney General
Andrew Cuomo
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New York City Press Office / 212-416-8060
Albany Press Office / 518-473-5525
nyag.pressoffice@ag.ny.gov

ATTORNEY GENERAL CUOMO ANNOUNCES INDUSTRY-WIDE

INVESTIGATION INTO CAR DONATION CHARITIES

Cuomo Audit Reveals Variety of Misleading Practices; Subpoenas Issued to 16 Charities, Fundraisers,
and Individuals Involved in the Car Donation Industry

Attorney General Cuomo Sues to Shut Down Charity for Misusing Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars
Meant to Help the Homeless

NEW YORK, NY (June 15, 2010) Attorney General Andrew Cuomo today announced an industry-wide
investigation into car donation charities after a review found fraudulent practices that deceived donors and
diverted funds from those in need. As a result of the investigation, the Attorney Generals office filed a
lawsuit seeking to shut down one charity for misusing money meant for the homeless, and subpoenaed 16
charities, fundraisers, and individuals.

The lawsuit charges that Nicholas Cascone, Jr., the director of Feed the Hungry, Inc. (FTH), solicited
vehicle donations that were supposed to fund humanitarian causes and then kept the proceeds to enrich
himself. Of the more than $430,000 that FTH received in donations between 2002 and 2009, the
investigation found that less than $7,900 1.8% was used for charitable purposes.

Nicholas Cascone and his Feed the Hungry organization promised to use donated vehicles to help the
homeless but only ended up taking generous New Yorkers for a ride, said Attorney General Cuomo.
We remain concerned that similar practices may prevail in other organizations and will diligently work
to root out any other sham charities. As we continue working to clean up this industry, we encourage
generous New Yorkers to stay informed and to keep donating to worthy charities.

Charities involved in the car donation industry solicit contributions in the form of used vehicles, which
they then sell to raise funds for humanitarian causes. The Attorney Generals review has shown that some
charities mislead donors about how much money is used for charitable purposes as well as where the
money goes. In some cases, the car donation charity is a complete sham, with little or no money going to
the causes the charity purports to support.

The Attorney Generals lawsuit charges that Cascone and FTH intentionally made false representations
about FTH in order to trick people into donating their vehicles. For example, the charitys own website
included false claims about the number of meals for the hungry that FTH had funded. The website,
www.feedthehungryinc.org, was taken down when FTH learned of the Attorney Generals investigation.
The lawsuit also charges Cascone with failing to provide even the most basic corporate and financial
oversight of charitable assets. Further, during the Attorney Generals investigation, Cascone invoked the
Fifth Amendment more than 150 times and refused to answer simple questions about whether FTH took
any steps to prevent charitable funds from being spent on personal items.

The Attorney Generals lawsuit seeks to:

Freeze FTHs assets and permanently bar any further charitable solicitations by FTH;
Obtain a full accounting of FTHs and Cascones current and former assets and hold Cascone
liable for restitution and damages;
Prevent Cascone from serving as an officer or director of any not-for-profit in the future;
Permanently dissolve FTH and dedicate any remaining assets to charitable uses that are actually
consistent with the stated mission of FTH.

The lawsuit against FTH and Cascone can be found at www.ag.ny.gov.

SUBPOENAS TO CHARITIES, FUNDRAISERS, AND INDIVIDUALS

As part of his wide-ranging investigation, the Attorney General has sent subpoenas to sixteen charities,
fundraisers, and individuals involved in the charitable car donation industry. The subpoenas seek
materials relating to the revenues that charities and for-profit fundraisers have collected through car
donation programs, and how those revenues were used by the charities. The subpoenas also seek
evidence to support the representations made in solicitations to potential vehicle donors.

The charities, fundraisers, and individuals that have received subpoenas are: Bless the Kids, Inc.; Breast
Cancer Society; Cars that Help, Inc.; Louis Cardillo; Children in Crises; Childrens Cancer Fund of
America; Childrens Literacy Fund; Feed the Hungry, Inc.; Arthur Glass; Heritage for the Blind; Hope for
the Disabled Kids, Inc.; J.O.Y. for our Youth, Inc. d/b/a Kars 4 Kids; Lechaim for Life; Neo Presearch
Energy Foundation, Inc.; Tree of Life; and We Buy Cars, Inc.

This matter is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Nathan Reilly, with the assistance of Analyst
Kayla Arslanian, under the supervision of Special Deputy Chief of Staff Mitra Hormozi, and Chief of the
Charities Bureau Jason Lilien.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Todays actions are part of Attorney General Cuomos ongoing initiative to fight charitable fundraising
scams and to safeguard donors. Recently, Cuomo sued to shut down a sham charity operation that
claimed to raise money for breast cancer, as well as four professional fundraising companies that used
fraudulent and deceptive practices. Last December, the Attorney General secured an injunction against
the United Homeless Organization for deceiving donors. Last November, the Attorney General released
his annual Pennies for Charity report, which shows the percentage of donations collected by charities
that go to professional fundraisers as opposed to charitable purposes.

Donors who suspect they have been a victim of charitable solicitation fraud should contact the Attorney
Generals office at www.ag.ny.gov or www.charitiesnys.com or by calling (212) 416-8402.

Before making vehicle donations, New Yorkers are encouraged to visit www.ag.ny.gov and
www.charitiesnys.com for tips on giving.

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