NY AG Settles with For-Profit Over Alleged Charity Scam

A for-profit company based in Yonkers has agreed to pay $650,000 to two Westchester County charities, to settle allegations from the New York attorney general's office that the company was operating a charity scam.

Assistant District Attorney Gary Brown said Thrift Land USA used the names of two other charities — Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rockland County and I Love Our Youth, Inc. — on its collection bins, without disclosing that donated items were not going to those organizations.

"There's nothing inherently illegal about a company setting up a collection bin and telling people, 'If you put clothing in here, we're going to resell it at a profit,'" Brown said. "We just don't want people to be mislead into thinking that those are charitable donations."

Under the settlement, Brown said Thrift Land has agreed to remove the charities' names from its bins, and disclose that donations aren't going to those charities. He said the company must also re-brand its collection bins. As part of the settlement, the company neither confirmed nor denied the allegations.