Brandi Weaver-Gates

http://www.people.com/article/beauty-queen-bilked-donors-thousands-faked-cancer-sentenced-prison

I think what she did is apalling. But should it concern the courts? "Theft by deception", that seems weird.

She conned people into giving her money with a sob-story. That happens all the time. Should a panhandler go to jail for holding up an incorrect cardboard sign? Should a charity CEO go to jail for not mentioning the 50% management fee on my donation for starving children? Can I sue Obama and get my campaign donation back for breaking campaign promises?

I guess my question is: Should "theft by deception" be a thing? Or maybe someone can give me an example where this law is useful or neccessary.

It matters whenever the amount grows. A bum promises he will spend it on food but instead spends it on booze? The law usually leaves you on your own since your decision to aid him was not conditioned on his promise.

No charity has an obligation to disclose fees and entangling contracts since the law considers any orphaned charity to be more important than honesty in the charitable giving industry. Name your charity National Cancer Society and take offices in the same building as the American Cancer Society... Legal. Send a fund raising letter with a teensy weensy box with the warning signs of cancer and write the expense off as public education for charitable purposes... Legal.

I don't know what law she broke, if any, but hopefully there is one and they throw the book at her.

Quote: Canyonero

Should a charity CEO go to jail for not mentioning the 50% management fee on my donation for starving children?

You do not want to know the charity-industrial complex in the USA and the waste to fraud that is out there. Really, you do not want to know. Of course there are good outfits like The Salvation Army. But good grief, you do not want to know how many "local" places are little more than an office and small few people who make it their job to be professional beggers who kick most of the excess funds to their capo in another city.

Quote: Canyonero

She conned people into giving her money with a sob-story. That happens all the time. Should a panhandler go to jail for holding up an incorrect cardboard sign? Should a charity CEO go to jail for not mentioning the 50% management fee on my donation for starving children?

Taking money under false pretenses is called fraud. it's immoral and should be illegal. No one is going to sue a panhandler, given the tiny amounts involved. Charities have to disclose their expenses on tax returns, and much of that info is public as well.

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Can I sue Obama and get my campaign donation back for breaking campaign promises?

No, because he didn't sell you campaign promises for money, nor was there a one-on-one contract involved.

Quote: Nareed

Taking money under false pretenses is called fraud. it's immoral and should be illegal. No one is going to sue a panhandler, given the tiny amounts involved. Charities have to disclose their expenses on tax returns, and much of that info is public as well.

So is a church taking donations under the pretense that there is a God that would like to see people donate fraud as well? The church can't prove the existence of God any more than Brandi can prove her cancer.

If Brandi only took 10 bucks each from 3000 people, would that make it OK? What constitutes a tiny amount? A panhandler may well make 30k over a few years time.

Quote: Nareed

No, because he didn't sell you campaign promises for money, nor was there a one-on-one contract involved.

There was no contract with Brandi either, nor did she sell anything.

Quote: Canyonero

So is a church taking donations under the pretense that there is a God that would like to see people donate fraud as well?

No, because 1) the donations aren't for the existence of the Jesus and 2) both parties believe the same thing (or near enough).

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If Brandi only took 10 bucks each from 3000 people, would that make it OK? What constitutes a tiny amount? A panhandler may well make 30k over a few years time.

I doubt the panhandler's "donors" know each other, get in contact or know the name of the beggar involved.

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There was no contract with Brandi either, nor did she sell anything.

If she was asking for money for a specific purpose, there is an implied verbal contract.

There's good evidence that some elderly people seem to lose their judgment and are easily defrauded. I'm bothered by that when considering harm to the public by false claims.

Elderly?
The Gypsies prey on them. So desperate that you can put a bookie's phone in their apartment and when the police raid it, the elderly have to go back to living on a pittance without that extra hundred a month.

Alright, let's keep the law then. :)

Quote: Nareed

No, because 1) the donations aren't for the existence of the Jesus and 2) both parties believe the same thing (or near enough).

I think we might all be surprised at how many priests and the like actually know exactly that they are selling BS.