Ashley Kirilow: New Charges, No Bail

This 23 year old Burlington woman was back in court on Wednesday and charged with a new more serious count of fraud, this time over $5,000. She was previously charged with 3 counts of fraud under $5,000.

 

Kirilow was remanded into custody on Monday after no one would post bail and once again today, no one would post bail. She is to have a bail hearing on August 19.

 

To recap: Ashkey Kirilow confessed to a scam where she claimed to have cancer then raised money for herself. She set up a charity called Change For A Cure and solicited donations which could total as much as $20,000.

 

According to reports, Ashley has been estranged from her family since 2005. Her father, Mike Kirilow said that Ashley phoned his wife and him in 2009 about having cancer. She went on to ask for a bone marrow transplant. The members of the family offered to be tested for compatibility but shortly thereafter discovered Ashley was not being treated where she said she was.

 

The family followed Ashley’s charity via Facebook guessing she was in fact, lying about her cancer. After reading a post in which Ashley claimed it would be her last because she was dying, her father confronted her and she finally admitted that no, she did not have cancer. About the same time, people working at the charity became suspicious and contacted authorities.

 

Ashley’s father has said that both he and the family are ashamed of Ashley’s behaviour but have decided to not bail her out. He went on to explain that she has lied to them one too many times.

 

“Ashley is in the hands of the justice system now,” he said. “I hope when all is said and done, she really understands the seriousness of what she’s done.”

 

 

We all want to help however we should practise some measure of prudent donating before forking over our hard earned dollars. What can we do before donating to ensure our money is, in fact, being used for good purposes?

 

The Canada Revenue Agency has information about charities on their web site entitled Giving to charity: Information for donors.

 

Every charity must be registered in order for your donation to be tax deductible. Ask for that number and if you don’t get it, don’t donate.

 

You can also verify a charity’s official status by using the search feature of the Canada Revenue Agency’s web site. http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/chrts-gvng/lstngs/menu-eng.html

 

We all want to help but let’s do our homework before signing the cheque or handing out our credit card. Let’s make sure our money is getting to those we want to help, to those who really need it.

 

Click HERE to read more columns by William Belle. 
 

 

Canada Revenue Agency: Giving to charity: Information for donors

 

Canada Revenue Agency: search for a charity

 

Canadian Charity Law: Avoiding Charity Scams in Canada

 

Facebook: Change For A Cure (Ashley Kirilow’s charity)

 

Facebook group: DEMANDING Ashley Anne Kirilow BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE

 

2010-08-11