It’s a sad day when a celebrity can’t use her sense of style to end poverty in Africa. That’s just what happened recently to fashion plates Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Naomi Campbell, Eva Longoria, David Beckham, Ryan Phillipe (sorry dudes, but in this context, you, too, are stylistas), Sheryl Crow and Ashley Tisdale, among others.

All of these luminaries of the stage, screen, field and/or catwalk wore “Millenium Promise” T-shirts to promote what they thought was a charitable organization raising money to end poverty in Africa. The charity’s means of accomplishing this ambitious, yet vague endeavor? Selling fancy t-shirts in chic shops like Fred Segal and Kitson, and using the proceeds from the t-shirt sales to save Africa.

As it turns out, the real recipient of all that goodwill – and cold, hard cash – is a woman named Mary Fanaro. She runs a bogus charity called Omnipeace, which she used to line her pockets at the expense of these unwitting celebs and other shoppers who bought the “Millenium Promise” shirts. Fanaro is now being investigated, and some of the celebrities involved could be asked to testify if this mess goes to trial.

Stay tuned for future installments of “disgusting swindlers and celebrities who don’t do their research.”

Via CelebrityDirtyLaundry.com