We all love the movie Taken, right?
Well, imagine a version where Liam Neeson is a fraud, and you'd get this guy, Adam Whittington, the man behind Project Rescue Children.
Whittington, former-cop-turned-self-proclaimed-savior, claims to have rescued over 700 children from traffickers in countries across the world. But according to a BBC report, some of these kids were never trafficked. And the money raised? Well, it didn't always reach those in need.
You know, like most non-profits.
After leaving the Metropolitan Police, Whittington, a British-Australian citizen, initially focused on retrieving kids taken by a parent in custody disputes. Then he found his calling in rescuing trafficked or abused children.
Noble, right? Except … it's all smoke and mirrors.
Let me explain.
His social media accounts are loaded with shocking content that has amassed 1.5 million followers, along with celebrity endorsements, including Sam Faiers of British reality TV show The Only Way is Essex.
She flew to Uganda, met with some children, and raised a whopping £137,000 ($175,000) for a rescue center.
But soon after, allegations started to fly, with former ambassadors and directors pushing the panic button over alleged financial mismanagement and fictional stories.
Less than half of the money raised reached Project Rescue Children's Ugandan partner, Make a Child Smile, with their founder saying that the rest was "eaten by Adam Whittington and PRC," with construction put on hold due to lack of funds.
The charity claims to be saving trafficked kids, but the BBC found they're using unsuspecting children as props.
And the rescue centers? No children in sight.
Whittington boasted about their operations in Kenya, telling horror stories about kids watching their parents butchered by traffickers. But when the BBC team stopped by, escorted by a police officer, they found nothing. The supposed rescue center is just an old lady's house, and void of children. The homeowner's son, Project Rescue Children's Kenya director, brought Whittington there, and Whittington used pictures of their home improvement work to convince donors he was running a rescue center.
Then there's the heartbreaking story of a baby supposedly rescued from traffickers in The Gambia. Whittington posted a picture of a baby in a gold blanket, named her Mireya, and said he'd adopted her.
But the BBC found that the baby had been with her mother all along, and they'd received no money from Project Rescue Children.
The rescue center in The Gambia? Just another family home with no rescued children.
With Whittington's charities being canned by authorities, you can probably guess where he's living now.
He now resides in Russia, of course!
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