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Ventura County Based Car Donation Charity Agrees To Million Dollar Plus Settlement Over Fraud Claims

Ventura County prosecutors say they’ve reached a million dollar plus settlement with a car donation charity which failed to live up to its promises. Prosecutors say Ventura-based Cars 4 Causes promised to give 70% of the proceeds of each donated vehicle to the charity selected by the donor. But, they say the reality was that less than 10% of the money ended up with the intended non-profits.

Investigators say the money was instead used for advertising, operating expenses, and salaries.

The settlement calls for Cars 4 Causes to pay more than $900,000 to charities, and to reimburse the DA’s office $100,000 for the cost of handling the case. Prosecutors say the business failed to forward more than two million dollars in proceeds to designated charities. 

The deal also calls for Cars 4 Causes to be dissolved, and bans its directors and staff from operating any charity fundraisers in the state.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral. 
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