Charity? That's a hoot -- and a trip to Hooters

Ever donate a few bucks to the American Deputy Sheriffs Assn.? Turns out it's more likely you paid for a round of drinks at Hooters for the telemarketers than for a new bulletproof vest for the deputies, the OC Register reports.

The group, formally known by its initials, ADSA, paid insiders at least $400,000 in four years. That's far more than it spent on death benefits and bulletproof vests for members, according to a report filed in an Ohio court last week. Among the insider perks: dinners at Hooters, golf tournaments and a chartered river cruise.

Donors unwittingly paid for it all. They also paid for the court-appointed receiver and forensic accountant who spent two years scouring the group's books.

Now ADSA's long run is ending. The receiver, Columbus, Ohio, attorney Jeffrey Lewis, halted fundraising earlier this year and is preparing to give away its remaining cash.

Created by OC telemarketing king Mitch Gold, who went on to serve six years in federal prison for mail fraud, the ADSA was one of the biggest 'badge scams' in the U.S., the Register reports. That and more details in the full story here.

--Veronique de Turenne

Photo: Flickr / Creative Commons