A few weeks ago, a lawsuit filed by state officials in Pennsylvania and Ohio over allegedly fraudulent fundraising efforts for several fire deparments in the area, including Butler’s City Fire Department, was a warning to potential givers. The lawsuits focused on alleged false claims; telemarketing fundraisers said all the money raised went to fire departments. Investigations by state officials found that only 10 percent to 33 percent of the money donated to Encore Music Productions, of Boardman, Ohio, went to the fire deparments. That seems to be evidence of a scam, a highly inefficient fund raising operation — or both.

A national charity watchdog group has consistently warned that many telemarketing fundraising businesses are more interested in making money for the business than for the charity behind the request for donations.

This week, another warning about fundraising comes from federal officials as a trial in Cleveland gets underway in which a one-time fugitive is accused of fraud in a multistate fundraising effort that claimed to benefit Navy veterans.

Prosecutors charge that the 67-year-old who ran the United States Navy Veterans Association, based in Tampa, Fla., operated a sham charity that played on people’s patriotic feelings and extracted from donors about $100 million over an eight year period. There is little evidence that much, or any, of the money went to the charitable purpose — helping Navy veterans — despite claimes by the fundraisers.

A months-long newspaper investigation in Florida raised questions that caught the attention of law enforcement officials. After combing databases and making telephone calls, the newspaper’s reporters were unable to locate 84 of the 85 people listed in the charity’s filings with the Internal Revenue Service. The one person who was located was named John Doe and worked for the group in Florida.

The newspaper’s investigation also discovered the address for the national headquarters of USNVA was a rented mailbox at a UPS shipping store in Florida. Further, it found most state chapters of the group also used rented mailboxes as their address.

The natural tendency of Americans to want to help creates an easy target for scammers. Asking for donations to help wounded or needy veterans is a powerful pitch. But the American Institute of Philanthropy recently issued a warning, saying that more than half of the 43 veterans-associated charities evaluated for efficiency — meaning they purport to give a large percentage of the money raised to veterans — received an F grade.

In this week’s Cleveland trial, officials say about $3 million was raised in Ohio based on a plea to help Navy veterans. But state investigators say the money has essentially disappeared, being used to cover fundraising costs, pay a small staff and, mysteriosly, through numerous ATM withdrawals.

The defendant, who disappeared soon after the newspaper’s investigative story broke, also falsely claimed to have served as a Navy commander. He was eventually tracked down and arrested in Oregon, where he had fake IDs and a suitcase with nearly $1 million in cash.

This trial and the cloud cast over telemarketing fundraising should be a warning to potential givers, especially as the holiday season approaches.

Sadly, it seems the most worthy causes, like helping veterans, attract the most unscrupuluous scammers, because the cause makes it easier to raise money.