The Child Cancer Scam: 6. The calls

0:06It's late evening in Cebu in the Philippines and Algin is getting the kids ready for bed when her phone goes off She sees Erez Hadari on the screen. She's been waiting for this call for weeks. Where are you? I'm in my house.

0:29You're where? In my house. How are you? You changed your hair? No. Where are you now? Canada. He's bare-chested and yawning. It looks like he's just woken up. Did you go visit Khalil lately? Yes, I miss Khalil. I had a dream about you and him. Can I ask you something? Yes. About the campaign of Khalil, how is it? Erez's face drops. What campaign? We don't have a campaign for three years. He turns and looks out the window.

1:41The money that you have found, it's$27 ,000, right? It's what? $27 ,000, Aljin repeats. Money she saw online that has been raised for Khalil. Yes, there is cost of advertising, so the company lost money. They advertised and advertised and they didn't receive money back. Okay. You understand? They lost money, I lost money too. The money that I gave you, the money that I spent, the production, I lost. Okay. The atmosphere on the call has become heavy. Algin reads the situation and quickly changes the subject. How are you? I'm good, I'm good, working hard. Soon taking care of my mother. I have to cut my mother out.

2:29She's getting old, she's by herself. Did you cut your hair? A little bit. What time is it there? I think it's already nine. you're living in the same place in uh cebu yeah so you will come here in cebu if you want me to come why you said that you will come in november right yeah that's the end of november uh i'll call you later because my baby is crying i'm going to work right now so i'll speak in a few days okay take care Bye. Bye-bye.

3:17Aljin takes a deep breath and records her thoughts. I don't know why he's saying that nothing happened with the fundraising. When I mentioned the campaign, his face changed. He looked shocked. It explained a lot. But I was taken aback and I'm nervous now. I'm worried he might do something to me.

3:49This is World of Secrets. Season 10. The Child Cancer Scan.

3:59A BBC World Service investigation. I'm Simi Jala-Oshin.

4:08Episode 6, The Calls

4:19It's a midweek afternoon in October in Calgary, Canada. On a quiet, leafy street, the orange autumn colours are out, and so are the Halloween decorations. And two of our team, Bosika and Chirag, are parked up in a rental car. So, been waiting for a while now and no activity as far as the house is concerned After Algin's call to Erez it's time to approach him ourselves We've got an address for him but we need to see if he's there It's a big house in a smart suburb A printer and an office chair seem to have been left out on the driveway On the first day our lookout came delivering a bunch of flowers.

5:06The idea was to knock on the door and say the flowers were for errors in order to confirm he's there. We knocked a bunch of times. We were waiting, trying to get somebody to answer the door. I could see that a light was on. So I figured someone is in, but nobody showed up and no one answers the door. And then Chirag notices a neighbour outside his house reading a book. So I went to him and I said, Hey, I've been trying to deliver these flowers and I'm not having any luck. But we are here for Erez. Do you know him? He's like, Yeah, I know him. Jewish guy, right? And I asked him, Do you have any idea where he could be?

5:49So he's like, No, I cannot tell you that, unfortunately. It should be totally okay if you leave the flowers outside. He will get it. On that note, the flowers are gone. The flowers disappeared, but no sign of errors. Days pass and there's not much activity to report at the house until a week later. Now it looks very much alive. So we have spotted a lady and a kid. The lady usually drops the kid to school and then comes back. They see a cleaner going in and two men leaving the house in a vehicle in the morning. And then the same vehicle comes back in the evening. by a gentleman who looks a little older, is a little chubbier, has like salt and pepper hair and a fairly long beard.

6:42The older guy looks like an orthodox Jew. And the younger guy and the older guy, both of them are wearing same style of clothes, white shirt with black suit and black pants. If Erez Hadari was there, I would have flown out to confront him. but he was not to be seen. So only one thing left to do. I'm in the BBC offices in London and I'm preparing to call Erez. I'm feeling a tad bit nervous because I want to ensure I ask the questions that I know the families would want to ask him. I'm going to give him a try on WhatsApp, on Facebook.

7:39It just says calling. So it means his phone is either off or the number is disconnected. I'm just going to try and call him as a normal phone call. You have reached the voice mailbox. At the tone, please record your message. And, perhaps predictably, Erez Hadari didn't pick up. So I sent him a voice note, saying I'd like to speak to him about the campaigns and about being on the registration documents of the organisations, like Walls of Hope. I didn't expect to hear back. But then, a day later, I received this text from him. Hello Simi. Just so you know, the non-profit has never been active since it was opened.

8:27We never used it. We arrange a time to speak, but then he doesn't pick up when I call. A few days later, he messages, apparently unwell. Hi there. I wasn't able to be available.

8:47So, I'll do my best tomorrow. either morning, I guess, or in the afternoon, which will be your morning, I guess. So, you know, just hard to talk and nauseous.

9:07Okay. Have a good day. I keep trying him. He even says at one point it's possible to meet in person. But then he goes cold. So I sent him this voice note. I have evidence that you are running these charities, intentionally exploiting children with cancer, using them to scam donors out of millions of dollars. You deceive the families by promising them money towards treatment, but you don't give them anything from the donations. You have directed shoots where children are made to shave their heads. They're made to cry using items like fake eye drops. I laid out all our questions and allegations for him.

9:51You make families sign contracts they don't understand. You have done this all over the world in various countries, in Southeast Asia, in Latin America and in Europe. I also send it all in a formal email. What do you say to these families whose children have died while they waited on your promises? Erez Hadari hasn't responded.

10:22There were no physical offices for Chancellor Tikva or Walls of Hope, and no one who worked for them picked up on their phone numbers. But both organisations have email addresses on their websites, so I put all our allegations and findings in writing. I never received a response, but after I sent it, something did happen. okay so no one from Chancellor Tickfa is getting back to me yet their website is now down I've gone to ChancellorTickfa.org and all I can see is a notice this account has been suspended contact your hosting provider for more information so someone's clearly taken down the website chance-latiktha.com is also down and doesn't work.

11:15Yet no one is responding to any of my texts or emails or letters. But it seems they are covering their tracks. This investigation has often felt like water through our hands. Organisations posing as charities appear, make vast sums of money and then disappear or change names. But what always remains the same, whether the campaign raises tens of thousands of dollars or nearly a million, is that none of that money goes to the families. This is his own stuff. You've kept it nice and neat and sealed up in the box still. When I visited Aljin in Cebu, she showed me many of Khalil's things that she kept.

12:14His bike, his toys, his clothes are all carefully stored away. Are these his shoes? But he never used it. She brings out a shiny new pair of black and red trainers still in the box. Yes, because he is in the hospital. He wants to wear it, but he can't. He said, how can I wear that one if I'm sick? So what does keeping it mean to you? Why have you kept it in the... So that I can have a memory with him. I need to keep all his things. She shows me his I Love New York hat. He wears this when he has to go to hospital for chemo. And in the corner of the room, there's a small shrine dedicated to Khalil.

13:00This is for the memory of Khalil, so we made this one. A cut-out photo of him smiling with the hat on, alongside candles and little statues of saints. We do pray here. This is our statue of saints. OK. Which saint? Santonini. Next to the shrine, the colourful poster pinned to the wall has the words, Happy 9th birthday in heaven, Khalil Jaden Tabasa.

13:34Algin always believed that if the money donated to Khalil's campaign had been passed on to the family to pay for his medical treatment, he would be alive today.

13:51I have to find strength every day. It's not easy, but I must, so I don't overthink. There are so many memories, especially in our house. It feels like he's there with us. I miss his voice, his smile, and the way he hugged me. I miss these things every day.

14:31At the hospital in Chenevtsy, in Ukraine, Olena is sitting in her small office after a nursing shift. Papers and pens are neatly arranged on her desk. She's staring at the screen of her phone, deep in thought. The contact is up, ready to call. This is not one she ever wanted to make or a situation she ever wanted to be in. She needs to confront Ole, or Alex Cohen, the man who organised and filmed the video of her daughter, Victoria. The one who we know liaised with the organisations in America and gave Olena the contract. He also offered her a commission if she helped recruit more families to film.

15:24The main thing I want from this is the truth. Because it's bad for everyone, not just for me. I want to put an end to it somehow, so it doesn't happen again.

15:44Oleg, good afternoon. I wanted to clarify some things with you. I'm not happy talking about it, but anyway. Olena tells him she's seen a fundraising campaign for her daughter Victoria online and across social media. How did they end up there? Who put them there? Show me, please. Share it with me. I remember my conversation with you and Tatiana, and you told me that it wouldn't be published anywhere. because I really didn't want it to be on social media. Of course, I'm in shock as well. I can tell you that. I'll be making calls and sorting things out. I saw the photos. Then I saw the amount raised.

16:26It was more than$250 ,000. I don't know where that money went. Who collects it? No, no, no, no. We need to sort it out. No doubt about it. So you don't know who it is. It says, chance Letikva on the contract I signed. No, I don't know. If I knew, first of all, we were trying to add more material so that we could collect more money. But if there was money collected, we would know about it and call you right away. Olena reminds Ole that she was in a desperate state when she signed the contract he gave her. But now reading it again, it refers to more payments, money she never received. Look, first of all, if that's true, if we can really get in touch with them to sort it out, then we will get all the documents, all the invoices.

17:21Because if they really did it without your permission, we will fully resolve it with you. Okay, because I saw it and I'm just really shocked. I want to find out who makes money with it. How is it possible to use the child's feelings? I really don't know. Okay, so now what? How long should we wait? Could you please send me this link and I'll start contacting them right away. As soon as I have an answer, I'll call you. OK, goodbye. Thank you, bye-bye. After the call, Olena leans back on her chair. I don't know. I have mixed feelings. I didn't really learn anything new. And the answers were a bit unexpected.

18:15I thought he'd act differently, maybe in a rude way. But he didn't. And again, it's confusing because with my trusting nature, I feel somehow he's not to blame for all of this.

18:35A day after Olena calls Ole, he sends her a message. He tells her Chancellor Tikva has found her records. A Russian-speaking representative will call her from either the US or England to explain things. Shortly afterwards, a man called Sir Roger does call Elena, claiming to represent Chancellor Tikva. He tells her all the money raised for Victoria has been spent on advertising. The campaign, he tells her, has failed. Exactly the same story that Erez told Algin. But it did raise more than$300 ,000. And contacts working in the charity sector have told me that a 20 % spent on advertising is considered average.

19:23So even taking that into account, there would have been at least$200 ,000 left over from Victoria's campaign.

19:34When your child is dying, hanging on the edge of life, and someone's out there making money off that, it's blood money. Ole, or Alex Cohen, blocked me when I tried to text and call him. He didn't respond to our email, outlining our questions and allegations against him.

20:00So it's just before this podcast comes out, and I'm going to have one last call with Olena and Katya, who's our reporter in Ukraine. I want to check in with Olena and Victoria and see how the family's doing. and of course tell Olena about the response we've received from Angleholm Clinic in which they've said that they fired Tetiana. Hi, it's so good to see you. How are you? So I have some news to tell you, Olena. We have been in touch with Angleholm to put forward what we found about the campaigns being filmed at their clinic and they confirmed that Tetiana is their marketing manager. They also said that they have not given permission for filming to take place on their premises and that they don't treat children with cancer.

20:50So in light of our investigation, they have decided to fire Tatiana.

21:02Olena is saying she doesn't know whether Tatiana continues to do her scams, but she thinks it's very good that she's been fired because such people cannot work in the medical institutions. So Tatiana hasn't responded to any of my direct messages and she hasn't picked up any of my calls but if you could say anything to her now, what would it be?

21:32I would like to be 100 % sure that it happened, that Tatiana was fired, and she would have a chance to meet Tatiana, she would ask, is she OK to live with all this? Victoria is by her mother's side, as usual. But today she wants to show me her own little companion. Tell me about your new pet. Kroshka. Kroshka. Kroshka, which means like a... Very little... Little rabbit.

22:13She can also jump to the sofa, she says.

22:20Victoria looked happy on the call, but it's been a very tough month for them. She's been reacting badly to the chemotherapy. She's not been doing well at all. I just really hope everything will be okay.

22:39Now I'm about to cry. Because honestly, I don't know what the future holds. The doctors say there is no hope. No chance. But I still believe. I really hope there is. For me, the only thing that matters is that she lives. What kind of future she will have, who she will become, I don't even care about that. All I want is for her to live and be healthy. A recent scan has revealed Victoria has yet another tumour. The family's battle continues.

23:34When I was in Colombia, Ana and her father Sergio wanted to take me to a very special place for them. It's called Fundevida, the children's cancer charity that did look after them in Cartagena.