A Wyandotte-based charity has agreed to shut down, following an investigation by the state.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette says that Firefighters Support Services spent 90 percent of the money it raised on expenses and overhead, not on firefighters or fire victims as they had claimed.
The charity will be dissolved in the next two months, while its three directors will pay back nearly 150-thousand dollars over the next three years. Most of that money will go to the Southeast Michigan Chapter of the American Red Cross for the purpose of home fire relief, while the remaining one-quarter will pay for the cost of the investigation.
“Michigan residents are very generous, but the unfortunate reality is that we all must be cautious of those that would exploit that generosity,” Schuette said in a statement. “The directors and officers of charities have a responsibility to the public to ensure that their organization’s solicitations are truthful.”