After Tampa Bay Times Investigation, Sen. Jeff Brandes Will File Legislation Targeting Deceptive Charities.

Today, State Senator Jeff Brandes announced that he is drafting legislation to address the growing problem of abuse by unscrupulous charities in the state of Florida. Senator Brandes is working in partnership with Adam Putnam to investigate fraudulent charities that are scamming consumers in Florida. 

“There are groups of charitable organizations today operating in our state that are willfully deceiving Floridians,” stated Senator Brandes. “These groups are misrepresenting the amount of charitable aid they provide, and instead finding creative ways to game the system and funnel donations into their executives’ pockets. The honest charities that contribute to our communities are being harmed by this abusive practice, and it must end. Florida consumers deserve to have confidence in the groups they donate their hard earned money to.” 

The announcement comes after Senator Brandes attended a public forum held by the Tampa Bay Times exposing “America’s Worst Charities”, as well as the publication of a series of articles from the Times detailing a system of waste and fraud by many charities operating in the state of Florida. The Tampa Bay Times has partnered with the Center for Investigative Reporting and the Cable News Network in exposing the problems with fraudulent and wasteful charities. Their collaborative reporting concluded that 11 of the 50 worst charities are located in Florida, a number greater than any other state in the country.