How to turn $89m in Donations into Robocall scams (news)

2023-05-16

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New York Times Investigation Finds Nearly $89 Million Raised Via Robocall Self-Enriching Scheme A New York Times investigation has found that a circle of conservative nonprofits, consultants, and shell companies together formed a self-enrichment scheme. Nonprofits loosely construed around conservative causes including The American Police Officers Alliance used aggressive robocall tactics to solicit small-dollar donors that raised $89 million. However, the investigation un...

New York Times Investigation Finds Nearly $89 Million Raised Via Robocall Self-Enriching Scheme

A New York Times investigation has found that a circle of conservative nonprofits, consultants, and shell companies together formed a self-enrichment scheme. Nonprofits loosely construed around conservative causes including The American Police Officers Alliance used aggressive robocall tactics to solicit small-dollar donors that raised $89 million. However, the investigation uncovered that a mere $826,904 of the amount raised went to the organizations’ purported campaigns—the rest went to the companies and consultants that ran the robocalls. The detailed investigation zeroed in on 3 Republican political consultants who together appeared to be the glue that kept the machine going. The organizations in question were registered IRS 527 groups and as such had a responsibility to file with the IRS. Multiple groups used human-sounding robocalls that, with the burgeoning consumer AI industry, may become even more realistic and responsive.