An investigation has uncovered how online crowdfunding campaigns featuring gravely ill children are exploiting desperate families and misleading donors worldwide. The inquiry began with an emotional video ad and led reporters to dozens of similar campaigns that claimed to be raising money for life saving treatment. One case involved Khalil, a seven year old boy from the Philippines who did have cancer but was filmed in a staged video that portrayed a fabricated scenario designed to elicit donations. His mother said the family was instructed to shave his head, follow a script in English, and make him cry on camera, all on the promise that the footage would help fund better medical care.

The investigation found that while these campaigns appeared to raise large sums of money, the families involved often received little or none of it. Khalil’s campaign alone showed more than $27,000 raised, yet his mother says she was told it had failed and was paid only a small filming fee. Khalil later died, and his family never received the donations raised in his name. Across multiple countries, the BBC identified 15 families with similar stories, including nine who say they received nothing at all from campaigns that together appeared to collect around $4 million.

A whistleblower from within the network said children were selected based on their appearance, with a preference for very young, bald children who would generate sympathy.

The investigation traced many of the most prominent campaigns to an organization called Chance Letikva, registered in Israel and the US, with links to another group called Walls of Hope. Through document searches and interviews, the BBC identified a key figure as Erez Hadari, an Israeli man living in Canada, who families say was directly involved in filming the videos. The BBC was able to verify that donations increased in real time and that some donors were repeatedly solicited for more money.

The Cradle Media