The Child Cancer Scam: 2. The director

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1:17It's just before Christmas 2023, and Algin's neighbourhood is in the midst of the annual Barangay festivities. Roast pig and other delicacies are being dished out in the crowded alleyways. Everyone shares food in a big display of pakikisama, or generosity.

1:42Arjun's kids love this time of year, especially tonight, coronation night, when there's a royal costume parade. Khalil's brother and sisters took part in the prince and princess competition. Let's take a look at them. That's when gifts and toys are handed out to the children. They're wearing shiny royal outfits. But Khalil isn't dressed up. Algin is keeping him close. He is now eight years old and getting weaker and sicker every day. I was afraid. Khalil was very vulnerable at the time and there were too many people around. He gets upset with his mother, telling her she's being over the top for not letting him join in.

2:33And when the time comes for the official competition photo, he slips off and joins it. It's the last photo taken of Khalil.

2:51A few nights later, Khalil wakes up feeling a tightness around his chest. Algin, knowing her son, rushes him to the hospital. He's monitored overnight, but discharged in the morning. Test results show he is stable But he's vomiting a lot And the next night, the same thing happens

3:21That evening, we had to rush him back to the hospital His chest started to tighten up again Before we took him, he gave me a big hug and said to me Ma, I love you so much I was shocked because in my heart I knew those were his last words to me. And that was it. He started to have a seizure and he slipped into a coma and then he couldn't talk anymore.

3:55Khalil passed away on December 22nd, 2023.

4:08After he filmed Khalil's campaign videos, Erez kept in touch with Algin. He asked for updates about Khalil's health. He was fully aware of Khalil's condition. But she says Erez never told her about the money people donated to help her son. According to the online page, 27 ,000 US dollars was raised in total. It was only a year later, when I showed Algin the campaign, that she found out. It makes me angry to see how many people tried to help us. I don't understand how they could do this to us. We did everything he asked us to do so that we could get the help that we needed. And he kept that from us.

4:53I trusted him a lot, and that's what he did to me. and nearly two years after his death, Khalil's campaign is still open for donations. It makes me feel very sad that they're still making money using Khalil's name even after he passed away. For the peace of Khalil, I want the fundraising to stop. Could the money that was raised through the campaign, could that have made a difference for Khalil? Khalil could still be alive today.

5:34This is World of Secrets. Season 10. The Child Cancer Scam.

5:45A BBC World Service investigation. I'm Simi Jalaosho. Episode 2. The Director.

5:59Who are the people actually making the films and coordinating? I'm not working on this investigation alone. There's a team of us, including Jack Goodman. That, I think, as you say, will come from speaking to more families. Jack does online investigations. And the first challenge we had was finding the families of the children in the videos. You get a face, an emotional video and a first name. No location, no contact details, no full names. But by watching Khalil's videos over and over, he found something. Hello, my name is Khalil. So I looked really closely at the video, frame by frame. And then you get to a scene of some kids playing table tennis.

6:50And in the background, if you pause the video and zoom in very closely, There's like an election poster and search the name of that person and it's connected to the mayor of Cebu in the Philippines. But from there, where did we go? We had Khalil and Cebu. So we did a search using these keywords, Khalil, Cebu, cancer. Came across an article which has Khalil and it's an article by a local Filipino charity asking for money on his behalf. But this looks like a legitimate appeal. So we found him and also a Facebook page for what seemed to be his mum. When I sent her a message on there, she replied.

7:43And I arranged to go out and meet her in the Philippines.

7:55We are in the public cemetery and then Khalil was born there. We visit Khalil every Monday. You come every Monday? Yes. I'm with Algin and her husband, Jozen, on their weekly visit to Khalil's grave. But today is special. It's the first anniversary of his death, so his cousins and aunts are here too. They're all praying for him.

8:28One of the photos on his grave is of him smiling, wearing that I love New York beanie. Algin places a banana, his favourite fruit, on his grave. candles are lit and giant yellow sunflowers are laid down. I brought him a flower. His favorite color was yellow. That's why we brought yellow flowers. One time, Irius visited here. Oh, he came. Because he wants to visit Kalim. When was that? This year, I think April. What did he do when he came? Just visit Khalil. Did he say anything? No. Only a prayer for him. When Erez came with Algin to her son's grave in April 2024, he must have known Khalil's campaign had raised tens of thousands of dollars and was still taking donations.

9:35When Eris found out that Khalil had passed, he told me that he would help with the financial cost of the funeral. But he didn't give me anything. He came to the wake and he brought toys for the kids. He said he had grown to love Khalil and that he would pray for him and his spirit.

9:57So she kept in touch with him, hoping that he would help in some way. She says he visited numerous times. Algin has shared all the messages, photos and voice notes between them from after Khalil died. Erez uses a Facebook profile called Eric Noahide to message her. He would message me quite a lot and he would visit the house and bring food for the children. He'd also bring us random gifts. He gave me perfume and would bring me food from Israel. He didn't really tell me much about himself apart from he was a busy man, busy looking after his sick mother, busy with work in his hometown. He told me he had two kids and that he was separated from his wife.

10:42I was away for six months in the Philippines. I have family, I have kids. I have to see my work, I have to see what's going on, I have no money. I have to go back. I don't live in the Philippines. Take care of your flight. Get this. Bye. He'd send pictures of himself, where he lived and on his travels, on a flight. Sometimes he would video call me and tell me he was calling from his house or from a hotel. It was always from somewhere different. Erez is from Israel. He still has family there, but now he lives in Canada. Algin says he travels a lot. In one of the photos he sends, it looks like he's flying business class.

11:27He wasn't trying to hide his wealth. He made many, many promises. Like, he said he'd buy us a car because he felt bad that we had to walk so far to get public transport. And he promised us that he'd help us start a business. Algin would message back, telling him about her kids, sharing her grief, talking about the family's financial problems, asking for help. Remember, at this time, she thought Khalil's campaign hadn't raised any money. Other times, she tries to call him. It's clear from their messages that they become close. Sweetheart, sweetheart, listen to me. you can't call me because when you call me i cannot answer i don't have wi-fi all the time so just send me a message and i'll call you don't call me randomly because you call me like at four in the morning 4 a.m i'm a different time zone i saw that you sent me some information but i cannot send you money i have only paypal not just gcash okay and i have to wait to get paid at the end of the week, the month.

12:37Okay, sweetheart, I love you. I miss you.

12:45To me, our relationship was a friendship. It was something different for him. I would just write along with the messages that he sent me. Work, honey. Yes. Send me a message on your birthday. I will send you some money. I want you to buy a gift. He asked me to recruit other families that had children with illnesses like Khalil, but he didn't offer me any money for it. And he said he wanted me to convert to Judaism so that he could bring me and my kids to his country. Erez often refers to Jewish holidays in his texts. Either Passover was coming up or the Sabbath was about to start, and then he wouldn't be in contact for a few days.

13:30The Sabbath is supposed to be a holy day of rest. He doesn't want to desecrate it, he would say to Algin. He's clearly active in the local Jewish community. Erez talked a lot about his faith to Algin.

13:48He was always praying. He told us about his Habad house in Cebu. He mentioned he had a community there. I didn't have a chance to visit the Chabad house, but he would tell me that he was always busy managing the kitchen and cooking for the community. So you can find Chabad houses all over the world. They're hubs for Hasidic or Orthodox Jews, and they offer support for Jewish travellers and are places for worship.

14:21In this video from December 2022, Erez is leading Hanukkah celebrations in Cebu. It's the Jewish festival of light. The light represents basically the darkness, not by fighting, by adding more light. Because a little bit of light pushes a lot of darkness away. He then lights candles alongside members of the Chabad house and local guests. And that's the message of Halukar. To fight anti-Semitism, to fight loneliness, to fight problems, to fight fears, by giving more light, by helping each other. So you're going to make a blessing now. This was taken about a week before Erez filmed Khalil in hospital, where Aljun says onions were used to make him cry.

15:13Ahead of his visit to Khalil's grave, Erez sends this voice note. I hope that Khalil in heaven will help me not to sin.

15:32On June 11, 1998, a deputy from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department went missing. Hey, if they'll kill a cop and bury them, what are they going to do to me? What really happened to the missing deputy? Valley of Shadows, a new series from Pushkin Industries about crime and corruption in California's high desert. Listen to Valley of Shadows wherever you get your podcasts.

16:03The Interview. The best conversations from across the BBC. Today we are spending trivians on war and peanuts on peace. With the people shaping our world. You're making decisions that will have long-term consequences for the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Wind power in the United States has been subsidised for 33 years. Solar for 25 years. That's enough! The interview from the BBC World Service. Listen now wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

16:55world and America meet. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

17:09We found the video of Erez leading the Hanukkah prayers on Roy Incierto's Facebook. Remember? The guy who recruited Algin and set up the shoot. Listen, Jin, this opportunity comes only After the filming, Algin thanked him for his help setting it up. And then sent him this video of Khalil wishing him a happy new year.

17:39She says he didn't tell her about the live online campaign. And then after Khalil died, Erez told her not to contact Roy. Judging by his Facebook page, Roy has had a pretty successful life. He looks to be in his 40s with a family. He travels abroad a lot and has a day job in sales at an insurance company in Cebu. So where does he fit in? How much does he know? It might be at work. I'm going to call Roy and ask him about the campaigns. I'm not going to tell him I've read and listened to all the messages he sent to Algin just yet. I want to hear what he says first. Hello? Hi. Hi, am I speaking to Roy?

18:31Yes. Roy, hi. My name is Simeon. I introduce myself and I ask him how he got involved with online campaigns for children with cancer. Oh, you mean the campaign from the children with leukemia? Yes. Yes. Can you tell me about the campaigns? Yeah, I remember that campaign because there was this Israeli group who approached me here in the Philippines to help kids. they come over then they ask me if there will be kids who can be helped and uh the guy present which is from i don't know from canada i introduced them to him and and after that probably they communicate with each other i did not know what after what's going on next Okay, who is this guy from Canada?

19:33The guy's name was Eric. And then how did you go about finding the families?

19:42I asked my friend who is a doctor if they have some kids who are in this category who are in need of help for bills and who are cancer kids and that's the reason why I get to know those kids with leukemia. So I asked him, who are the families that Roy linked up with Erez, or Eric as he calls him? Ah, I forgot already the name because it's long time, right? Okay. But yes, I remember I was able to introduce two girls. Only two girls? And then I explained to them that this group will help you, and then you talk to them. No mention of Khalil or Aljun. But Roy tells me about the filming with the two families he is being open about.

20:46The videos were filmed like a normal video. Were the kids made to cry? The kids were sitting down and talking about their condition and I think it was the normal reaction was, yeah, you can really shed a tear, but not on the extent of crying. Were the kids made to do anything to prepare for the filming? No, the kids were just sitting and she just talked about her condition and like an interview, talking to the camera, something like that. Did you tell the families to make sure the kids had their heads shaved?

21:36No, because the kids are already being shaved. You didn't tell them to make sure they were shaved for the filming? No, I did not. Roy is clearly holding something back here. We've heard the messages he sent to Algin. Did Eric promise you anything? Like what was in it for you to get involved? There was none because, like I said, I don't want to earn from it. If there is any monetary value, because for me, it's not about that. It's about helping the kids. Have you spoken to Eric since these videos were created? No, no more. He went back to, I don't know, Israel or he went to Europe. And I did not hear him.

22:34But after the filming, you didn't follow up with them to see if they received the money. I did not because after the filming, it was that guy who talked to the families. and I also don't want to be like a middleman or something. I tell him I know that some of the families didn't get the money that was raised. I feel something like puzzled about what's going on. I feel puzzled. I did not bother to ask if what's going on because I feel it's not my job. So what do you have to say to those families that trusted you? I can tell to the family that I am very sorry about what's happening, and I don't have that control as to the situation going on, because the information given was to look for those kids who are in need of help, especially for the billings and their treatment.

23:49He made all these promises to the families and didn't ask any questions. Like, how do you promise these families these people are going to help when you don't even know where the videos are going? Like, he couldn't confirm what the families were promised, anything about the money, anything about the campaigns. I don't know if he was just withholding a lot of information from me or he genuinely doesn't know. him saying that he was just sitting there and they just thanked the sponsors we know that's far from the truth

24:22I tried to call Roy back in the following days asking him for more information and to press him for more details about the work he did with Erez but he stopped taking my calls and didn't respond to my messages