🛑 ICCD Scam Alert (Follow up)

Q. Why Did ICCD Allow The Fundraising Scam?

Sunday 2/11/2024

Dear ICCD Community Members, Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh,

You asked:

Q. Why Did The ICCD Management Allowed The Fundraising Without Making The Proper Inquiries First? Who to blame?

Answer:

The ICCD management followed the proper procedure. The deceptive fundraiser submitted all the legal documents and information any Masjid will ask for to approve the fundraising event.

• IRS business document.

• Tax ID Number.

• Registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

• Strong online presence.

• Business website.

• Project: Build or Remodel a Masjid.

But the fundraiser attitude on the day of the fundraising event is what raised up my suspicion about him.

• No proper marketing materials.

• Using his personal cell phone number for Zelle transaction.

• Did not have a merchant account to run credit cards transactions.

• Being Loud.

• Demanding to be paid on the spot.

• Not organized.

The above list gave me enough doubts about the fundraiser to make me hold up the collected donations for a few days for further investigations.

Upon further investigation, I discovered that:

• The charity he claimed to represent does not have any daily activities.

• The Masjid he is collecting donations for was closed over 10 years ago.

• The Masjid website has no active or up to date information.

• The website has his own personal cell phone number.

• The Contact Us form on his website has the wrong map and wrong address.

To confirm my doubts, I reached out to local Masajids in Columbus Ohio, and all of them confirmed that this is a scam.

When I confronted him, he started pashing me, calling me names, threaten to protest in front of the masjidand and to file a lawsuit, etc.

After a few days he disappeared.

Let us all remain vigilant, support genuine causes, and protect one another from deceit.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Jazakumullah Khairan,

Imad Achmar

ICCD President