Couple Charged In Military Charity Scam
(Illinois) A Villa Park man and his fiancee were charged with impersonating a charitable organization by claiming they were military reservists in order to collect money form shoppers in grocery and discount stores, according to a County State’s Attorney.
Donald L. McCarver and Anne M. Pellegrini, both 41 and of 324 N. Ardmore in Villa Park, were each charged with felony theft by deception and false impersonation of a charitable organization, the release said.
DuPage County Crime Stoppers received a tip that the two were passing themselves off as military reservists and falsely collecting money from shoppers in discount and grocery stores. Shortly after, a Dominick’s representative notified the DuPage County Sheriff’s office that the suspects were in its store of an Illinois suburb.
Investigators went to the store, where they saw a woman dressed in a Navy uniform with a man in civilian clothes sitting at a table selling tickets for a raffle that was ending over the Memorial Day weekend, the release said. When approached, the couple insisted they were military personnel and the charity they were collecting for -- the Navy/Marines Family Relief Fundraiser -- was legitimate, according to the release.
But authorities checked with the Navy and discovered the couple were not active military personnel and the charity does not exist..
In addition to the theft and impersonation offenses, McCarver was charged with one count of obstructing justice for allegedly giving a false name and birth date to authorities.
The theft charges, Class 3 felonies, carry a prison term of 2 to 5 years, while the obstruction count, a Class 4 felony, is punishable by 1 to 3 years in prison, the release said. The false impersonation charge is a misdemeanor. All of the charges are probationable.
