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TALLAHASSEE - Attorney General Charlie Crist today sued two Broward County organizations and several of their employees for targeting senior citizens in a charitable donations scheme. Global Mindlink Foundation and Select International Donors Corp. allegedly collected more than $2 million from older consumers, promising to donate the money to charitable organizations but instead keeping the money for themselves.

Investigators with the Attorney General's Economic Crimes Division determined that both organizations are Florida non-profit corporations owned and operated by Denise Battista of Coral Springs. Battista managed a staff of telemarketers who solicited memberships and newsletter subscriptions from elderly consumers nationwide. The consumers were told that the proceeds from their purchases would be used for charitable and humanitarian purposes. Consumers who agreed to purchase subscriptions or memberships supposedly would be eligible to participate in monthly drawings for cash prizes.

When a telemarketer was able to talk an elderly person into paying a fee, Global or Select considered that victim to be vulnerable and targeted the person for repeated follow-up calls. If the elderly person recalled having recently paid Global or Select a "yearly" membership or subscription fee, the telemarketer would tell the victim he or she could now become a "VIP" or "Gold" member for an additional charge. This special membership supposedly increased the chances of winning the monthly drawings, but former employees have told investigators these special memberships were merely a ruse to scam the victims out of more money.

"Targeting those who believe they are making a contribution for the good of others is outrageously offensive, especially in light of the pressing need for charitable giving," said Crist. "It is imperative that we put a stop to this type of shameful behavior, not only to protect potential victims but also to protect charities from the possible decline in generosity that this type of scam could cause."

Consumer complaints also indicate that Global and Select debited money from victims' checking accounts without their prior consent or knowledge. The charitable facade of these entities was created simply to take advantage of the charitable nature of their elderly victims, the Attorney General's lawsuit asserts, with approximately 99 percent of the solicited money going toward corporate salaries and administrative expenses.

Global and Select are being sued under Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. The civil penalties under this act are $10,000 per violation, or $15,000 if the victim was a senior citizen. The lawsuit was filed in the 17th Circuit Court in Broward County.

A copy of the civil complaint is available at: http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/JFAO-6FYJUC/$file/Global_Mindlink_Complaint.pdf