Brooklyn prosecutors arraigned a Staten Island man on Monday for purportedly stealing more than $150,000 from donors while soliciting their funds for fake cancer charities he organized.
Ian Hosang, 63, allegedly formed 23 fraudulent charities — many of which included the words “American Cancer Society” and “United Way” — between 2014 and 2021, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office, and even filed paperwork with secretaries of state across the country to further his goal of collecting donations under false pretenses.
“This indictment is important for the American Cancer Society as we work to improve the lives of cancer patients and their families,” said Timothy Phillips, the American Cancer Society’s chief legal and risk officer. “This isn’t about dollars. It’s about treatment, quality of life, and survival. It’s unconscionable that anyone would try to take that away due to their own greed.”
The financial contributions totaled $152,000, and were usually made in smaller amounts, but a dozen individual donors gave Hosang over $3,000. Those funds were traced to bank accounts seemingly set up by Hosang, which were believed to be used on his living expenses, like his mortgage payments, credit card bills and liquor store runs, according to the DA.
“This defendant allegedly lined his own pockets by defrauding unsuspecting donors who contributed generously to help cancer patients fight their illnesses,” said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez in a statement. “We have no tolerance for this kind of outrageous alleged fraud, and my office will vigorously seek accountability.”
The DA’s office said the defendant does not have any affiliation with the charities he pretended to solicit funds for and supposedly used a company in Clinton Hill to create and file most of the paperwork affiliated with the scam.
To boot, prosecutors say Hosang stole the identity of a Brooklynite and used her name as the director of a number of his imposter charitable organizations.
The defendant ostensibly advertised and solicited money for his fake charities using websites like the American Cancer Society for Children, Inc. which thanked donors for their “generous contributions.”
Hosang was arraigned before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on 12 counts of third-degree grand larceny, three counts of first-degree identity theft and one count of first-degree scheme to defraud — amounting to up to seven years in prison. He was ordered to return to court on June 22.
He is also being charged with stealing the identities of United Way and the American Cancer Society.
