American Breast Cancer Foundation fraudulent, says suit

A suit filed in San Diego federal court on Nov. 8 says that the Baltimore-based American Breast Cancer Foundation has raised $80 million since its founding in 2003, but only 5.3 percent of that sum ever made it to people in need of cash aid.

Between 2003 and 2010, corporate fundraisers received 75 cents of every dollar raised, according to the suit. A telemarketing company run by founder Phyllis Wolf's son was paid $18 million during that period, says the suit, filed by an Orange County law firm.

Wolf was forced to resign in 2010; that year, she made $126,500 and her son's telemarketing company raked in $134,733. Cancer patients got only $20,000 in mammogram assistance, according to the suit, which relied for many of its facts on a joint investigation by the Tampa Bay Times and the Center for Investigative Reporting. Plaintiff in the suit is Isabella Janovick.