Former Coach Uses Bogus Charity To Bilk Donations Meant For Terminally Ill Kids

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Former Freedom Area High School coach Steven Wetzel stole $91,000 through a bogus charity, U.S. Attorney David Hickton has charged.

It's a charity that KDKA has learned was never properly registered in Pennsylvania.

When student John Challis was dying of cancer in 2008, Wetzel co-founded a legitimate foundation called the John Challis Courage for Life Foundation to help terminally ill children, but shortly thereafter, he left to create his own charity called The Hero Program.

In soliciting money for this fund, said Hickton, Wetzel claimed that "100 percent of donations and grant monies to The Hero Program (are) used to meet the needs of terminally ill children."

But instead, Wetzel used most of the money to pay his own utility bills, medical bills, remodeling projects at his home, and tickets to pirate baseball games.

Residents in Beaver County shared the same sentiments:

"Just makes me really sad because people should honor their word and commitments," said one.

"What would he have in his mind? If it's for the children, it's for the children. not him. That's terrible," said another.

"It's just disgusting. It's disgusting. How they could sleep at night," added one.

"It makes my stomach sick," said another.>>

So how can you know if a charity is really legitimate in the state of Pennsylvania?

The state government maintains a website, now listing 11,514 charities. You can go on that website, type in a name, and find out some background on that particular charity.

And if you find nothing listed, as KDKA found when we typed in The Hero Program, that's a giant red flag.

As for the John Challis Courage for Life Foundation, it's registered and legitimate, and the current president says Wetzel has not been involved with them since he left in 2009.

Wetzel's attorney, Steve Tropani, says Wetzel is sorry and remorseful and hopes to reach a plea agreement with Hickton.

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