[BHS etree] SUPT: Marcus Robinson Fraudulent Fundraising Scam is Back

[bhs at idiom.com]

PLEASE DO NOT REPLY to the etree, contact Mark Coplan
[mailto:Mark_Coplan at berkeley.k12.ca.us]

Fraudulent Fundraising Scam

I have alerted the community of the inappropriate fundraising efforts
of a gentleman by the name of Marcus Robinson, representing an
organization called B.A.S.I.C., a number of times over the years.
Mr. Robinson is back, and insists that he provides tutors for the
Berkeley schools, and even invokes the good name of the Berkeley
School Volunteers.

This is absolutely not true. We currently have a letter on file
advising him that he is not allowed on any BUSD school site or
administration building because his aggressive behavior frightened
some of our staff. He claims to be providing services in other
Districts, but that is not our concern. Our only concern is that he
has been fraudulently using the name of the BUSD in his fundraising
efforts. We have notified the Berkeley Police in the past, and the
message below comes from them. My notice from 2006 (below) gives other
options for donations to help at Berkeley High School. To donate to
the Berkeley Public Education Foundation's Berkeley School Volunteers,
go to: www.bpef-online.org.

Mark Coplan, BUSD Public Information Officer 

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To all,
Please be aware of an individual that's been going around the city
asking for donations, re: Berkeley High School.  Remember Berkeley
High School does not go door to door requesting donations. Read the
below paragraph on  'Fundraising scam for Berkeley High School'. Also
attached is a copy of the B.A.S.I.C letter this individual is
displaying to try and get you to donate. 
 
John Nutterfield #15
Area 1 Coordinator
Berkeley Police Department
jnutterfield at ci.berkeley. ca.us
(510) 981-5806 

My original notice from 2006:

November 2006
False Fundraising Alert
About this time every year people seem to hear from an individual by
the name of Marcus Robinson who claims that he is fundraising for a
tutoring program called BASIC, and is serving the Berkeley schools.
This is not true, in fact Jim Slemp has made it clear that he is not
permitted on the Berkeley High School campus. He has been known to
actually set up meetings in the front corridors of the administration
building, to re info rce the image that he is connected to BHS. I met
him about three years ago, and he looked like he was just stepping out
of a meeting with one of the vice principals. He has been doing this
for years and is very convincing. Mr. Robinson will probably show you
a letter signed by school board director John Selawsky. The letter is
real, but was written for one specific project that John believed to
be true at the time, before we began to hear stories of questionable
fundraising attempts going back 20 years. 
Please report any attempts by this man to the Berkeley Police
Department Fraud Division 981-5900. Ask for copies of any material he
shows you. 

If you are interested in making a donation to support the work going
on at Berkeley High School or any of the other school sites, there are
funding mechanisms available through the PTA's, and at Berkeley High,
the Berkeley High School Development Group is a great way to support
the parent efforts at BHS: www.bhsdg.org Mark Coplan, BUSD Public
Information Officer

==========================================

Mark A. Coplan
Public Information Officer, BUSD
510-644-6320
Mark_Coplan at berkeley.k12.ca.us
Berkeley Unified School District
2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Berkeley, Ca 94704-1180