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Khloe Kardashian, Lamar Odom Accused of Charity Scam

Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom have allegedly scammed cancer research by using their “Cathy’s Kids” foundation to raise money primarily for two youth basketball teams.

Say it ain’t so! The Kardashians have been accused of a lot of things, but promising money to cancer patients and then using those funds on a basketball team? Has the reality couple stooped to a new low?

Some say yes, others are still on the fence.

Khloe and Lamar created the foundation known as “Cathy’s Kids” after the NBA star’s mother passed away from cancer.

The organization is supposed to raise money to cancer research, but it seems like they are more interested in saving young athletes than cancer patients.

“Of the $2.2 million raised by the charity, at least 60 percent – $1.3 million – went to those AAU teams,” ESPN reported about the charity scam.

While donating to the youth is still a worthy cause, it’s the foundation’s mission statement that is getting the stars slammed with scamming accusations.

“Cathy’s Kids was founded by Los Angeles Lakers star Lamar Odom in March 2004,” the mission statement read. “It was developed as a means for Lamar to streamline all his charitable efforts and focus on making a positive impact on the lives of under-privileged children, as well as targeting a disease that has played a significant role in his life, cancer.”

The statement makes it clear that the funds will also go to “under-privileged children” like the young men of the AAU teams, but the promise that some of the funds will go to cancer research isn’t being fulfilled as much as donators would have hoped.

The very name of the charity would suggest that it’s primary focus was on cancer research, but that’s simply turning out not to be the case.

To make matters worse, all the money isn’t going to those traveling athletes either. Some of it is landing right into Lamar’s best friend’s pockets.

Jerry DeGregorio is the secretary of “Cathy’s Kids” and his position it paying off a little too well.

DeGregorio earned a whopping $72,000 annually from 2004 to 2011 despite the fact that the charity was operating at a loss.

While the reality couple claimed to not have enough money to continue running the site and even reported being over $250,000 in debt , DeGregorio’s pay checks were never really impacted by the financial struggles.

So technically, the organization isn’t a full “scam” because some of the money does go to charity but it is certainly misrepresenting the truth about what the focus of the organization is all about.

People who are looking to donate money specifically for cancer research might be a little pissed off to discover that the majority of their cash paid for a few basketballs instead.

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