A family member of an Escondido man killed in a desert racing accident in August is accusing a non-profit organization of withholding money that was raised for families of the crash victims.
Greg Farkas will never get over the loss of his 25-year-old son Aaron. "It's left a big hole in our hearts," Farkas told NBCSanDiego Monday night.
On Aug. 14, Aaron was a spectator at the California 200 race in San Bernardino County, standing along the route of the off-road race. A racing truck lost control and slammed into a crowd of people, killing eight of them including Aaron, and injuring 12 others.
Greg Farkas says the crash also left his family in financial despair. "We're talking in the $80,000 range for medial and funeral costs,"Farkas said.
The Farkas family contacted Fast Aid, a non-profit organization that helps raise money for victims of race crashes.
Farkas believes Fast Aid has raised at least $500,000 since August.
"A lot of it's cash," said Farkas. "I have a feeling that it's not all going into the account like it's supposed to."
According to Farkas, the organization is giving the 20 families of the California 200 victims, $5,000 to $8,000 each.
NBCSanDiego contacted the president of Fast Aid Jared Tetzlaff, who's also a police officer in Arizona.
He says only about $150,000 has been raised.
"We've kept meticulous records because for us to be a non-profit we have to show where the money comes from so we can give out tax deduction receipts and everything else,"said Tetzlaff.
Farkas doesn't believe it. "I think it needs to be investigated," he said. "There's some cash going away somewhere."
Tetzlaff said he would provide any documents to prove that his organization isn't stealing any money.
Meantime, the Farkas family is now contacting other families, to see if they would support a criminal investigation.
After this report aired on NBC 7/39 and was published online, Fast-Aid issued a news release about the donations raised. - Ed.
