A BBC investigation has exposed a fake cancer charity scam linked to an Israeli man in Canada.
In an investigation published last week, the British news agency found that the global cancer charity scam had exploited sick children and their families.
Erez Hadari, the Israeli man running Walls of Hope in Canada, raised millions of dollars in donations that never reached the children they were supposed to help.
Despite raising around $4 million in campaigns, the BBC found at least nine families who had received nothing.
Parents said they were misled, manipulated, and left without support while our children battled cancer.
The fundraising campaigns were run by a network linked to the Israeli man living in Canada.
Hadari is connected to several US and Israeli-based charity organizations, including “Chance Letikva,” also known as “Chance for Hope.”
The BBC investigation found that Hadari recruited scouts to search for pretty children aged three to nine.
The scouts were told to go to oncology clinics and focus on bald children with cancer and described them as “beautiful.”
The sick children, who had come from different countries, were used in highly emotional videos, begging for help and claiming their lives were at risk.
During filming, the BBC investigation discovered that some of the children were connected to fake medical equipment, while scouts used chopped onions and menthol to induce tears.
One case involved Khalil, a seven-year-old boy from the Philippines. His mother, Aljin Tabasa, said the scouts shaved his head and made him recite a script in English. They told her the video would help pay for treatment.
The campaign in Khalil’s name appeared to raise $27,000. Aljin said she never received the money and only got a $700 filming fee. One year later, Khalil died.
“If I had known the money was raised, maybe my son would still be alive,” she told the BBC.
The BBC found 15 families worldwide who said they received little or no money. Some did not even know campaigns existed in their children’s names.
One whistleblower from inside the network said recruiters searched oncology wards for “beautiful children” aged three to nine. They demanded photos and sent them to Erez for approval.
The investigation traced many campaigns to Chance Letikva. Others were promoted by Walls of Hope, registered in Israel and Canada. Documents list Erez Hadari as director of Walls of Hope in Canada.
Photos online show Hadari at Jewish religious events in several countries. Families in the Philippines and Colombia identified him as the man who directed filming.
In Colombia, Sergio Care said his daughter Ana was filmed while suffering from a brain tumor. The campaign later appeared to raise nearly $250,000. The family received nothing.
In Ukraine, a campaign featuring five-year-old Viktoriia appeared to raise more than €280,000. Her mother said she never approved the campaign and never wrote the appeal text. The clinic later fired the staff member who organized the filming.
The BBC tested the campaign sites by donating small amounts. The public totals increased immediately, suggesting the figures were real.
Experts told the BBC that charity advertising costs should not exceed 20 percent. Families were later told donations went to “advertising,” without proof.
Some campaigns for children who have already died still accept donations online.