Businesses Scammed For School 'Atheltic' Donations: Vernon Cops

VERNON, CT — Several business were recently hit by a scammer posing as a booster for Rockville High School sports programs, Vernon police said.

Vernon police said the culprit was an out-of-state-business that claimed it was representing the local school system and raising funds "on behalf of Rockville Athletics."

The business did not have permission from the Vernon public school system to collect funds and the school has not received any of the collected funds, according to police.

Police said they learned that several local businesses sent checks to the solicitor, believing the funds would be used for athletic programs. The solicitor recently mailed the school a small quantity of low-quality printed t-shirts containing the school logo and advertisements for the donors, police said. The shirts were not requested by the school and the company did not have permission to print them on behalf of Vernon Public Schools, police said.

Police on Thursday sent out a warning to residents and businesses to "use caution" when responding to solicitation requests. Checks should only be made out to the organization itself and mailed to an official address, police suggested. Donors can request additional verification by calling an organization directly, police said.

Vernon police said they are following up with the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office regarding the practices of the business that made the solicitation inquiries.

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