WOMEN HELPING WOMEN RESTITUTION FUNDS-
NOW TRULY HELPING WOMEN
District Attorney Jan Scully announced today that during a presentation on
Tuesday, December 20th, at 9:30 am at the District Attorney’s Office, she
will disburse monies totaling $72,000 to benefit five Sacramento County area
non-profit organizations who serve women in need in our community.
The restitution monies resulted from the prosecution of 12 women in the
Women Helping Women case. Women Helping Women was an endless-chain scam
operated in El Dorado, Sacramento, and Placer Counties from April 2001 to
September 2002. Women Helping Women was promoted as a “charitable gifting
concept.” In reality, women were induced to invest a minimum of $625 to
$5,000 cash money in the form of a “gift” in exchange for a chance of a
$5,000 to $40,000 payoff. Such a scheme is fraudulent under California law,
since the increasing number of investors required to keep the scheme going
will inevitably result in its collapse.
Of the 12women prosecuted, 11 plead guilty or no-contest to Endless-Chain
Schemes violations and one defendant took her case to trial and was
convicted by a jury. As a part of our criminal action, it was a requirement
that each defendant who plead guilty pay into a charitable organization
fund, the proceeds of which were to be distributed to local non-profit
organizations which assist women in need.
Now that we have received the charitable funds from the probation payments
made by the defendants, the District Attorney’s Office is able to forward to
five worthy charities monies which will provide meaningful assistance to
women who are truly in need.
Please join us: Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office
John Price Conference Room, Tuesday, December 20th at 9:30am
Contact: Special Assistant Deputy District Attorney Lana Wyant
(916)
874-5907
