World of Secrets: The Child Cancer Scam

Episode 4: The Contract

Date: December 22, 2025
Host: BBC | Reporter: Simi Jalaosho

Overview

In this gripping installment of "World of Secrets," the BBC investigates the deeply troubling networks scamming desperate families of children with cancer by manipulating their plight for online fundraising campaigns. This fourth episode, titled "The Contract," zeroes in on the story of Olena Fiselova and her five-year-old daughter Victoria in Ukraine. It details how their hardship was exploited, laying bare the mechanics of the scam—from staged hospital videos to misleading contracts and the shadowy organizations in the US and Israel that benefit.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Meeting Olena and Victoria

• [01:32] Simi joins Olena and her daughter Victoria in Chernivtsi, Ukraine. Victoria, recovering from her third brain tumor operation, is the subject of a viral social media fundraising campaign she never authorized.
• [02:00] Simi shows Olena online campaigns about Victoria in multiple languages, amassing thousands of followers and donations.
• [03:57] Olena is shocked:

  "I've never written about it, I've never spoken about it, and I've never posted these photos. I double checked. I asked them where these photos because I didn't want everyone in Ukraine or elsewhere to see my child suffering. I didn't want that. They assured us it wouldn't be publicized."

• [04:29] The emotional toll and Olena’s wish to stop people from getting rich off her child's tragedy.

2. How the Scam Works: Staged Hospital Videos & The Contract

• [05:01] The Approach: Olena is contacted by Tatiana, claiming she can help through foreign sponsors but requesting hospital footage of Victoria for verification.
• [06:21] When Olena says Victoria is not hospitalized, Tatiana proposes they stage the scenario.
• [07:10] Filming is traumatic:

  "It was very uncomfortable, really unpleasant. Uncomfortable for us and for the child. […] But at that moment, I understood that it was necessary. It's what they wanted." (Olena, 07:10)

• [07:50] Olena is told the sponsors agree to help, and she signs a contract, receiving $1,500 in local currency—filmed as proof for the donors.
• [08:26] Olena only discovers the campaign’s scale and her daughter's image’s global reach when Simi shows her the online pages raising over $250,000.

3. The Deception: Exploited for Profit

• [09:04] Olena’s heartbreak and rage at realizing the distress was orchestrated for emotional manipulation:

  "When my daughter was crying, when she was, I can say, forced to cry, and understood that it was all staged to manipulate people's feelings by using a child's illness. It's really scary. I don't know how these people live with God. It's not just business. It's a big sin." (Olena, 09:04)

• [09:52] Olena agrees to help investigators expose the scam by re-engaging with Tatiana.

4. Secretly Re-Engaging the Scammers

• [11:19] Olena, coached by Simi, calls Tatiana pretending she needs help again.
  • Tatiana immediately asks for new photos showing Victoria’s appearance: “We need her to be without hair.” (12:31)
• [13:33] Olena sends the requested pictures, and Tatiana arranges to meet in person.

5. Undercover Meeting—The Rules of the Scam

• [16:43] Despite a night of terrifying missile attacks, Olena meets Tatiana, accompanied undercover by BBC reporter Katya Malofreva.
• [18:01] Tatiana claims Victoria is ineligible because “one child can't receive support twice,” but probes for more visual evidence.
  • "They want it to be clear that the child has cancer." (Tatiana, 18:20)
  • "It's not about proving it. It just needs to be visible. As I said, the child should be bald." (Tatiana, 18:32)

6. Expanding the Network—Recruiting Other Families

• [20:19] Katya follows up with Oleg/Alex Cohen, the cameraman. He explains the process and offers to pay Olena again if she refers new families:

  • “If through Olena, we can reach someone else ... then we could also support Olena in return.” (Podcast Host, 20:57)
  • Katya: “Understand, getting the commissions?”
  • Podcast Host: “Put very bluntly, yes.” (21:19)

• [21:42] For new families, the most vital requirement is "the photo. The one where the child has no hair."

  • “If the parents agreed to make a video, then we would be talking about 8 to $10,000. If this material goes on social networks, they first need to cover the costs of promoting the campaign. And after that, everything that comes into the account will be given to the families.” (Podcast Host, 22:16)

• Reality: Of the hundreds of thousands raised online, families consistently received only small upfront amounts, or nothing at all after the initial payment.

7. Unpacking the Contracts

• [23:22] Simi reads the fine print from Olena's signed contract:

  • “The organization may determine the fundraising methods, select the fundraising platform, produce videos for donors, and invest in promoting the campaign via social media.”
  • The contract falsely claims families approached the organization, not vice versa.
  • Further payments like an $8,000 bonus are contingent on undisclosed fundraising “thresholds”—usually never achieved or communicated.

• [24:55] Strict exclusivity clauses penalize families for independent fundraising: “It shall be considered a material breach of this agreement.”

8. The Elusive Organizations & International Links

• [25:35] Oleg/Alex Cohen describes a web of charities:
  • “They work kind of like a conveyor belt. There are about a dozen similar companies operating there. We pass information along to them. There are ones like St. Teresa and Little Angels. Those are the ones I can remember off the top of my head.”
• [26:09] Simi and team tie these nonprofits to a familiar figure—Erez Hadari—and set out to investigate “Chancellor Tikva” in Brooklyn, New York.

9. On-the-Ground Investigation in Brooklyn

• [27:00] US reporter Natalie Jimenez visits the Brooklyn address linked to Chancellor Tikva.
  • Finds a residential neighborhood with no evidence of a business—just a home with bikes and toys.
  • “[It] looked like some type of nursery, but all the blinds were closed ... It didn't seem like they were willing to speak to me.” (Natalie Jimenez, 27:46)
• [29:07] Phone numbers go unanswered. The investigation points next to Israel.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Olena’s realization and pain:

  “I wish it never existed and people wouldn't get rich on someone else's tragedy. It's not even about the money. It's about the situation. The situation is that families are suffering.” (Olena, 04:29)

• On forced tears:

  “She was like, mom, please come and comfort me. I was restraining myself. I stood back. I didn't comfort her. But at that moment, I understood that it was necessary. It's what they wanted.” (Olena, 07:10)

• On the scam’s perversion:

  “It's really scary. I don't know how these people live with God. It's not just business. It's a big sin.” (Olena, 09:04)

• Recruitment for the scam:

  “Put very bluntly, yes.” (Podcast Host/Oleg, on family commissions, 21:19)

• On the visibility of illness:

  “It's not about proving it. It just needs to be visible. As I said, the child should be bald.” (Tatiana, 18:32)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:32 – Meeting Olena & Victoria: the real family behind the viral campaign
• 03:57 – Olena shocked by unauthorized content online
• 07:10–08:19 – Staged hospital video/contract signing
• 09:04 – Olena’s outrage at exploitation
• 10:55–13:07 – Undercover re-engagement with Tatiana
• 16:43 – After missile strikes, Olena & Katya meet Tatiana
• 20:19–22:35 – Oleg explains recruitment/commission structure
• 23:22–24:55 – Review of the misleading and restrictive contract
• 25:35 – Exposé on US-based charity conveyor belt
• 27:00–29:09 – Reporter investigates Brooklyn address

Investigative Tone

The podcast maintains a sensitive, investigative, and unflinching tone. Simi Jalaosho and her co-reporters balance empathy for victims with dogged pursuit of the facts:

• Empathy: Simi frequently checks in with Olena’s emotions, especially after distressing events (e.g., after undercover calls and meetings).
• Detail and Rigor: The team scrutinizes contracts, tracks down addresses, and challenges each participant in the chain.
• Determination: Despite setbacks, missile strikes, and unwelcoming doors, the investigation pushes onwards, now setting its sights on the scam’s connections in Israel.

Episode Summary

"The Contract" exposes the machinery of an international child cancer fundraising scam, blending undercover reporting, victim testimony, and legal forensics. It shows how hope and trauma are leveraged through staged videos and misleading contracts, for the profit of shadowy organizations. The episode closes on the hunt for further truths behind Chancellor Tikva and affiliated nonprofits, promising further revelations in the next installment.