NY Attorney General Reaches Settlement With Company Over Fake Charity Clothing Bins
YONKERS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is announcing a $700,000 settlement with a Westchester County company that claimed the clothes dropped in its 1,100 donation bins were going to charity.
Schneiderman said Thursday that Thrift Land USA of Yonkers actually sold the clothing at a large profit and the charities whose names appeared on the bins received only a small monthly fee.
"Duping members of the public into thinking that they are making a charitable donation, when in fact they are enriching a for-profit corporation, is both deceptive and illegal," Schneiderman said in a news release. "When a for-profit company masquerades as a charity, my office will hold it and its owners accountable."
As part of the settlement, Thrift Land has paid $50,000 in penalties and costs. The company has also paid $650,000 to two nonprofits, the Westchester Community Foundation and the New York Community Trust.
The settlement also requires Thrift Land to rebrand its bins so that they do not advertise any connection to a charity.
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