Fraud and Abuse

Car donation con artists have even developed scams that use fake charity names to sound legitimate.

Programs are rife with fraud and abuse.

California authorities recently convicted a Sacramento man for fraudulently accepting nearly $1,000,000 in donated cars for The Foundation for Abused Children—a charity that does not exist.

A year ago in Michigan, two unlicensed charities, the National Lung Foundation and the National Cancer Association, were ordered by the state attorney-general to stop accepting donated cars because they would only accept the gifts if people paid $200 towing fees, whether or not the vehicle needed towing.

The majority of mainstream charities conduct legitimate car donation operations, with great benefit to the charities. But state and federal oversight are practically nonexistent for car donation programs. Regulators freely acknowledge that they cannot keep track of all of the groups that are involved in car donation programs, much less know where all the money is going.

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