A Richmond-based animal protection agency is warning other charities about "a sophisticated fraud scheme" that may be targeting non-profit organizations.
The Regional Animal Protection Society (RAPS) was recently contacted by someone claiming their late partner had instructed a $95,000 donation to be made to the charity "in support of animal welfare and the care of the late partner's dog."
"The email was followed up by a letter, ostensibly from a law firm, and a cheque seemingly from the Ontario Ministry of Finance," according to RAPS in a media statement.
When the cheque was deposited, RAPS began using the money for ongoing renovation of the agency's cat sanctuary in Richmond.
Soon after, the supposed lawyer contacted RAPS, saying there had been a "mistake." They claimed the donation should have been $25,000, not $95,000 and asked for a refund of $70,000.
“At first we believed this was an honest correction of a clerical error by the law firm,” said Catherine Ellsmere, president of RAPS.
“Thankfully, before we took action to return any funds, our bank notified us that the cheque had been fraudulent."
She said RAPS was lucky not to have sent any money to the scammers.
"This is a sophisticated fraudulent scam whereby the perpetrators send fake money and request a refund of legitimate monies from the charity.”
RAPS contacted the police and the Ontario Ministry of Finance regarding the scam.
A 'heartbreaking' incident
The agency is now asking the community for help.
While RAPS did not lose any money directly to the fraudsters, it had already starting using the $95,000 it believed was a real donation on critical, life-enhancing improvements at its cat sanctuary.
“We acted in good faith, and immediately applied what we believed was a generous and meaningful estate gift to our animal welfare programs,” explained Ellsmere.
“Unfortunately, because the funds were not legitimate, we are now carrying an unexpected financial burden at a time when every dollar is spoken for, creating a negative cash flow for RAPS."
RAPS said it had money moved from its operating budget to pay for capital projects. But when the cheque was found to be fake, the funds were "rescinded and withdrawn" by the bank.
"While we did not send the fraudsters a refund cheque, we did spend funds that we now could not afford on animal welfare capital projects," said Ellsmere.
“RAPS is built on the generosity and compassion of people who believe that animals deserve love, safety and a second chance. This incident is heartbreaking, but we know our supporters will stand with us to turn this situation around.”
Donations directly supporting RAPS and the cat sanctuary renovations can be made on the animal agency's website.
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