Director Of Charity For Terminally Ill Kids Facing Federal Fraud Charges
BEAVER (KDKA) -- The director of a charity set up to help children dealing with serious illnesses is accused diverting money from the program to himself.
Steven Wetzel, 39, of Beaver County, is facing charges of mail fraud and filing false tax returns after the U.S. Attorney in Pittsburgh said he diverted more than $90,000 from his charity to his own benefit.
Wetzel's charity, The Hero Program, was set up after the death of 18-year-old John Challis from cancer.
Wetzel was Challis's high school baseball coach.
The Hero Program, funded by grants and private donations, was set up to help desperately ill children and their families. The U.S. Attorney said only $10,000 went to very sick children.
According to the U.S. Attorney, some of the money Wetzel is accused of diverting went to things like home remodeling projects, $5,000 at restaurants, $3,600 for baseball tickets, and even paying his dentist and eye doctor bills with donated money.
Steven Toprani, Wetzel's attorney, told KDKA-TV's Ralph Iannotti that his client "accepts responsibility, and is remorseful."
Toprani said Wetzel will enter a plea.
"He makes mistakes, and has poor judgement when it came to finances," said Toprani
Reacting to the charity fraud, one man in Beaver County said, "It's disgusting. How can they sleep at night when they do something like that?"
Challis's father, J. Scott Challis, said he was shocked by the charges against Wetzel. He said he found them very hard to believe.
He also said that Wetzel never had involvement with their charity, called the Courage for Life Foundation.
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