76 Fake Charities Shared a Mailbox. The I.R.S. Approved Them All.

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/03/us/politics/irs-fake-charities.html?searchResultPosition=2

No paywall
https://archive.ph/Xm1T9

The “American Cancer Society of Michigan,” state authorities say, was a fake charity. And not even a good fake.

It was not in Michigan, for one thing. When the group applied to the Internal Revenue Service to become a tax-exempt nonprofit in 2020, it listed its address as a rented mailbox on Staten Island. It was not the American Cancer Society, either: In fact, the real American Cancer Society had already warned the I.R.S. that the leader of the sound-alike group, Ian Hosang, was running a fraud.

The I.R.S. approved the group anyway. Soon after, it also approved another operation run by Mr. Hosang: “the United Way of Ohio,” which was also registered to the Staten Island address.

Mr. Hosang, 63, is now accused by prosecutors in New York of operating a long-running charity fraud that has astounded nonprofit regulators and watchdogs — and raised concerns about the I.R.S.’s ability to serve as gatekeeper for the American charity system.
Not because the alleged scheme was so good.

Because it was terrible. And it worked.

*snip*

[ck4829]

1. What was the IRS doing during this time? Oh right! Auditing poor people more and more!

https://www.propublica.org/article/earned-income-tax-credit-irs-audit-working-poor

[John1956PA]

2. About eight years ago, the RWingers made an issue over the IRS delaying approval of their groups.

The IRS backed off on eying groups with less than 50,000 in income. The lack of oversight opened the door for con artists to obtain charitable exemptions for bogus groups.

[Midnight Writer]

3. The IRS budget has been cut to the bone by Republicans.

They are barely functioning at this stage, even though without a functional IRS, our government cannot operate.

Beefing up the IRS, who are regularly challenged by armies of top paid corporate lawyers, would pay tremendous dividends for our country.