7 On Your Side: Non-profit soccer team needs big money assist
NEW YORK (WABC) -- It's a northern New Jersey non-profit that does everything from raising money for earthquake victims to helping teach kids to speak Itallian.
And they also have a sensational soccer program for kids. But after their club made a $1600 mistake, this band of ballers couldn't budge its toughest foe.
"One thousand six hundred and sixty four dollars and 99 cents." That's the amount Frank Giuliano says is gone good bye from his soccer club's coffers. "Where did it go? I have no idea," he said.
The big-money mix up has put his football non-profit in peril. The AC Milan Club has been Frank's passion for the past 14 years.
"It's a great experience, they treat the players like family," says one of its players, Carlo Aliotti. AC Milan is a top notch club, made possible by parents, fundraising and a high profile annual gala.
"At the dinner dance, we bring in $12,000 to 15,000," says Frank.
"We're trying to raise money to cover coaching, referees, tournaments and a camp we do for the kids," says Head Coach, Rene Moran.
Last January the club closed its AMEX account, switching to Visa. One of their first purchases was a new fridge for their clubhouse.
But their treasurer made a big buck blunder, sending the pay-off to the closed AMEX card, not their Visa. But even with no valid account, AMEX still cashed their check.
And when Frank called, he said he spent hours and hours on the phone. And for more than three months, Frank says AMEX couldn't find the money.
So we used some of our fancy footwork, contacting the credit card giant.
And there it was just days later, a check for the full amount.
The big takeaway: Frank's treasurer ran into trouble when he used an obsolete payee in his online banking. So it's not a bad idea to do some late spring cleaning - and clear away all your old accounts so you don't make the same mistake.
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