Local celebrity's kids charity targeted by on-going scam

ATLANTA — Bert Weiss, of The Bert Show, and his children’s charity, Bert’s Big Adventure, are the latest target of an ongoing scam operation.

A number of Georgia nonprofits have been targeted recently, including Sunshine on a Ranney Day.

The charity received a fake donation check for nearly $45,000. Had the scam worked, they would have refunded $15,000 in real money due to a supposed error by the donor.

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“When you find out it’s not real, it’s infuriating. How could someone do that?” Weiss said.

Weiss told Channel 2 Consumer Investigator Jim Strickland that if they would have fallen for it, the scam would have cost three ill children and their families trips to Disney.

“What we’re trying to do is give them five days, just five days to escape from all of this. So when reality like this hits, it’s really deflating,” Weiss said.

The supposed donors are real people who have reported their identities stolen.

State officials admit they have a better chance of shutting down the operation than of actually prosecuting those responsible.

Cox Media Group