Michigan authorities say the "American Cancer Society of Michigan" is a fake charity. But it wasn't even a good fake.
Firstly, it was not in Michigan. The fake charity group applied to the IRS to become a tax-exempt nonprofit in 2020.
It presented its address as a rented mailbox on Staten Island in New York City.
As it turned out, it was not the real American Cancer Society either: The real organization had already alerted the IRS that the leader of the sound-alike group, Ian Hosang, was running a scam.
In spite of this, the IRS approved the group.
Following that, it approved another operation run by Hosang: "the United Way of Ohio," also with an address on Staten Island.
63-year-old Hosang is accused of running a long-running charity fraud that has astounded nonprofit regulators and watchdogs.
It has raised questions about the IRS's ability to serve as a gatekeeper for American charities.
It was not because the alleged scheme was so good. It was terrible. However, it worked.
Hosang - a convicted stock market fraudster - had 76 nonprofits approved by the IRS despite obvious red flags of potential fraud.
Hosang stole the names of better-known charities.
But the IRS kept saying yes. As a result, the agency has drawn scrutiny for its new fast-track system for approving charities.
In 2001 to 2019, Nina Olson was the IRS' in-house national taxpayer advocate. She repeatedly announced that vetting levels had decreased.
A government agency declined to respond to questions regarding the case of Hosang, citing taxpayer privacy laws.