Manitobans pocket $13K from fake hospital fundraiser: police
Posted November 23, 2022 11:55 am.
Winnipeg police say two Manitobans pocketed more than $13,000 of charitable funds that were never delivered to the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba (CHFM) as promised.
The Winnipeg Police Service says a 39-year-old woman and 40-year-old man from St. Anne, Man., were charged with multiple offences, including theft, fraud and criminal breach of trust.
The WPS says the CHFM was contacted last December with a proposal for a virtual fishing tournament fundraiser called the “Full Tilt Winter Walleye Tournament.”
The CHFM was told it would receive the net proceeds of the fundraiser.
The foundation provided the organizer with permission to use its logo for advertisement.
Investigators with the WPS financial crime unit determined the organizer “secured numerous corporate sponsors who provided prizes to the event believing it was for a charitable cause.”
Police say the organizer received 492 registrations and collected $22,147 in entry fees.
Investigators determined $9,118 of the raised funds was dispersed as prize money to participants.
“The Foundation never received the remaining funds, totalling $13,029,” police said in a statement.
Police believe the organizer and co-accused “retained the remaining funds for their own financial gain.”
The suspects were charged between Oct. 20 and Nov. 2.
Both were released on undertakings as mandated by the Criminal Code.
