During the week of June 1, a group of people fraudulently identifying themselves as fundraisers for Crystal Lake-based charity Andrea Lynn Cancer Fund canvassed a Fox River Grove neighborhood soliciting donations. The group produced fake flyers stating they were raising funds for 16-year-old cancer patient Katie Smith. The Andrea Lynn Cancer Fund logo, and a picture of charity volunteers flanking a female cancer patient were part of the flyer. The picture was apparently downloaded from the Andrea Lynn Cancer Fund website, and was from a fundraising event that took place several years ago. Unfortunately, the girl pictured on the flyer lost her battle with cancer in 2007.
The Andrea Lynn Cancer Fund does not conduct door-to-door donation campaigns, and is not affiliated with the group seeking donations in Fox River Grove this June. The group associated with the fake flyer was successful in collecting several monetary donations from Fox River Grove citizens, thus committing theft. “It saddens me that people would use the good work that our organization does, and misrepresent it for their own personal gain,” said Andrea Lynn Cancer Fund President Brent Beckwith. “It is unfortunate that people who were willing to make a donation to our cause were taken in by this scam.”
If you were a victim of this crime or have information about the person or group of people falsely claiming they were soliciting donations for the Andrea Lynn Cancer Fund can contact the Fox River Grove Police Department at (847) 639-2411, email [email protected] or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-762-7867 (STOP).
