Charity Founder Accused of Fabricating Child Trafficking Stories

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Adam Whittington, a former police officer and the founder of Project Rescue Children (PRC), has been accused of fabricating stories to raise funds for his charity, the BBC has revealed. Whittington, who claims to have saved over 700 children from human traffickers in countries like Uganda, Kenya, and The Gambia, has allegedly misled donors and misused funds intended for children in need.

 

 

Whittington, a British-Australian citizen, has accumulated a significant following on social media, with over 1.5 million followers, partly due to the shocking and sometimes disturbing content he shares. His charity has also garnered celebrity support, including from Sam Faiers of ITV’s "The Only Way is Essex." Faiers, who became a PRC ambassador, raised £137,000 ($175,000) to build a rescue centre in Uganda after visiting orphaned and destitute children there.

 

 

However, allegations against PRC began to surface on social media soon after the fundraising drive, with former ambassadors and directors accusing the charity of financial mismanagement and fabricating stories about children. BBC File on 4's investigation found that less than half of the funds raised by Faiers—£58,000 ($74,000)—were sent to PRC's Ugandan partner organization, Make a Child Smile. Alexander Ssembatya, the founder of the Ugandan organization, claimed the rest of the money was “eaten by Adam Whittington and PRC.” Construction of the rescue centre stalled due to the lack of funds.

 

 

Sam Faiers expressed her dismay, stating she was "deeply appalled" and "heartbroken" to learn that not all the funds had reached the children. She urged Whittington to release the remaining funds immediately. PRC, however, claimed the money provided was sufficient for the construction and accused Ssembatya of refusing to sign a contract and mismanaging funds. They stated that the remaining money had been spent on other children in Uganda and the Philippines.

 

 

Further investigation by the BBC revealed that PRC's supposed rescue centre in Kenya was a sham. Whittington had posted detailed and distressing stories about children allegedly supported at the centre, but a visit to the location by the BBC team in April 2024 found no children and discovered that the property was merely the home of an elderly lady named Jane Gori. Gori's son, Kupa Gori, was PRC's director in Kenya and had brought Whittington to visit her home. Photos of improvement work funded by PRC at Gori’s house were used to convince donors of the rescue centre’s existence.

 

 

The investigation also uncovered the case of a baby named Mireya, whom Whittington claimed to have rescued from traffickers in The Gambia in a dramatic mission. Whittington used this story to raise funds and even convinced his UK director, Alex Betts, to adopt the child with him. However, the BBC found no evidence of the rescue mission. Betts, an online influencer, had met a baby during a visit to The Gambia, but it turned out that the child had been borrowed from her mother in a nearby village. The mother, who lived in poverty, had never received any money from PRC, only occasional groceries.

 

 

When confronted with the findings, PRC maintained that Mireya’s story was true and invited the BBC to carry out a DNA test on the child. They claimed the Bass home was a PRC rescue centre and that Mireya was overseas visiting relatives. The Gambian authorities are now investigating Whittington and PRC for potential legal violations, with Lamin Fatty from the Child Protection Alliance stating that multiple laws may have been broken.

 

 

Whittington's background includes service in the Australian Army and the Metropolitan Police. Despite the serious allegations, the full extent of PRC’s financial activities remains unclear due to the lack of detailed accounts filed by Whittington's various entities. The UK’s Charity Commission rejected PRC's registration application in 2022 due to unresolved "significant issues." PRC's charitable status in Australia has also been revoked following the BBC's investigation.

 

Whittington, currently residing in Russia, did not respond to requests for an interview. Since the investigation began, some content has been removed from PRC’s website, and Whittington has been banned from Instagram. Despite these developments, Whittington continues to raise funds and claims to be expanding PRC's operations to South Africa.

 

The BBC’s investigation has exposed significant discrepancies and alleged fraudulent activities within PRC, casting doubt on the legitimacy of Whittington's charity work and raising serious questions about the use of donated funds.

 

Credit: BBC 2024-07-17

 

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[Purdey]

I was reading quite recently that the main KPI of a charity leader is fundraising. Seems like he took this very seriously. Western organizations in Africa, like the UN even, have misled donors before. 

[john donson]

whatever ...  US GOVERNMENT is trafficking children and giving them to anyone claiming to be family, no DNA or nothing... good only for human traffickers,  sex slaves, ...