Gretchen Rossi Fights Claims She Set Up Fake Leukemia Charity

FOXNews.com:

“Real Housewife” Gretchen Rossi is hardly a stranger to drama, but the O.C.-based reality star ignited a firestorm recently when news broke that a charitable memorial fund she set up last year didn’t actually exist. 

According to Rossi, she received verbal confirmation last year from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) that the Jeff Beitzel Fund, founded in memory of her late fiance, would be established through their organization. But Rossi tells Tarts that she was unaware that the agreement was not carried out on their end. 

“I was always under the impression that the fund was set up with them. After speaking with them now, I realized it was not their intention to not communicate the details of how restricting funds within the organization works. They are a large organization with a lot of moving parts,” Rossi explained exclusively to Pop Tarts. “I was told by a former employee last year that all money raised could be restricted into a fund we would call 'The Jeff Beitzel Memorial Fund.' 

"I was then told that it would be at my discretion how those funds would be used within the organization (i.e. research, patient services etc.). It has since been brought to my attention that the fund was never actually set up.”

As quickly as she seemed to get over her cancer-stricken ex to hook up with Slade (of all people), would anyone really put it past Gretchen to do something devious like this?