Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane’s office today announced a civil settlement with a Bucks County woman who was the intended beneficiary of more than $36,000 in charitable giving after she falsely claimed she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of terminal cancer.
An investigation by the Office of Attorney General’s Charitable Trusts and Organizations Section determined that Danielle Kunkel, of Newtown, was never terminally ill with the cancer she claimed to have.
“Our investigation showed this woman misled her family and friends, which resulted in their seeking donations for her benefit through the generosity of others,” Attorney General Kane said. “This type of behavior is absolutely unacceptable. The settlement reached in this case will serve as a strong deterrent to prevent this conduct from occurring again in the future.”
According to the settlement, reached with Kunkel in the form of an assurance of voluntary compliance, Kunkel represented to her family and friends that she was diagnosed with “Stage IV Metastatic Lymphoma, B Cell, Type E,” an aggressive form of cancer.
It is alleged that Kunkel further claimed that she was facing more than $1 million in medical expenses and planned to travel to Germany for treatment. While she was away, and relying on her alleged misrepresentations, Kunkel’s family and friends held several fundraising events, including a dinner, dance, raffle and silent auction. The events resulted in charitable donations of at least $36,665, according to the settlement. After returning home, she allegedly claimed to have made a full recovery and continued to misrepresent that she had been terminally ill while holding the contributions on account.
The settlement alleges that Kunkel, who was the intended beneficiary of the Danielle Lenihan Kunkel Fundraisers and the Pay It Forward For Danielle.com website, violated Pennsylvania’s Solicitation of Funds for Charitable Purposes Act and the Local Option Small Games of Chance Act.
Under the terms of the settlement, Kunkel is prohibited from participating in any solicitations on behalf of herself or any individuals, organization, corporation, association, partnership, trust or foundation with a charitable mission.
Kunkel also must pay a total of $49,906, consisting of $36,665 in restitution, $3,750 in civil penalties, $8,470 in costs of investigation, $792 in attorneys’ fees, and $229 in costs and expenses. The restitution will be distributed by the Office of Attorney General to one or more charitable organizations in and around Bucks County providing medical care for cancer patients.
This case was handled by Senior Deputy Attorney General Lawrence Barth and Civil Investigator Lisa A. Pinti of the Office of Attorney General’s Charitable Trusts and Organizations Section. The section is tasked with ensuring that charitable assets are being used appropriately and files related legal actions when necessary. The section also oversees nonprofit mergers and reviews the actions of executors and trustees in cases involving wills and trusts that contain charitable gifts.
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