Florida Woman's Desperate Scam After Tragic Floods Leaves Community Shaken
A shocking case of online impersonation has come to light in the wake of the devastating Camp Mystic floods that claimed the life of an 18-year-old counselor, Chloe Childress. Maitlin Paige White, a 28-year-old from Florida, allegedly created fake fundraising accounts using Childress' name and image on platforms like GoFundMe and Spotfund.
White reportedly posed as Matthew Childress, Chloe's father, to solicit donations for the family. The schemes, which were uncovered by investigators in Harris County, Texas, involved White creating online fundraisers that promised cash donations would directly benefit the Childress family. However, detectives soon discovered that the accounts belonged to White herself, and not to the grieving father or his daughter.
When confronted with evidence of her scheme, White allegedly admitted to creating the fake accounts, claiming she was a single mother in need of quick financial gain. She even linked her Chime bank account to the fundraising pages, ensuring the donations would be deposited directly into her own account.
The brazen scam has left many in the community reeling, and authorities have taken swift action against White. The Harris County District Attorney's Office charged her with a felony count of online impersonation on January 2, but she remains out of custody pending a bond hearing.
As one would expect, many are now warning others to be cautious when donating to family members or loved ones affected by tragedy. With the tragic loss of Chloe Childress still fresh in their minds, the incident serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of online scams and the importance of verifying identities before handing over hard-earned cash.
In this case, White's actions were driven by desperation, but they ultimately brought harm to an already vulnerable community. As authorities work to bring her to justice, it is essential that we remain vigilant in our efforts to protect ourselves and others from falling prey to such scams.
A shocking case of online impersonation has come to light in the wake of the devastating Camp Mystic floods that claimed the life of an 18-year-old counselor, Chloe Childress. Maitlin Paige White, a 28-year-old from Florida, allegedly created fake fundraising accounts using Childress' name and image on platforms like GoFundMe and Spotfund.
White reportedly posed as Matthew Childress, Chloe's father, to solicit donations for the family. The schemes, which were uncovered by investigators in Harris County, Texas, involved White creating online fundraisers that promised cash donations would directly benefit the Childress family. However, detectives soon discovered that the accounts belonged to White herself, and not to the grieving father or his daughter.
When confronted with evidence of her scheme, White allegedly admitted to creating the fake accounts, claiming she was a single mother in need of quick financial gain. She even linked her Chime bank account to the fundraising pages, ensuring the donations would be deposited directly into her own account.
The brazen scam has left many in the community reeling, and authorities have taken swift action against White. The Harris County District Attorney's Office charged her with a felony count of online impersonation on January 2, but she remains out of custody pending a bond hearing.
As one would expect, many are now warning others to be cautious when donating to family members or loved ones affected by tragedy. With the tragic loss of Chloe Childress still fresh in their minds, the incident serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of online scams and the importance of verifying identities before handing over hard-earned cash.
In this case, White's actions were driven by desperation, but they ultimately brought harm to an already vulnerable community. As authorities work to bring her to justice, it is essential that we remain vigilant in our efforts to protect ourselves and others from falling prey to such scams.
some ppl r just soooo outta line! Maitlin Paige White thought she could just scam people w/ Chloe's name & image? Like, what's wrong w/ her?! 
she knew she was gonna hurt innocent ppl who wanted to help the Childress fam. And now she's tryin' to play it all sad & desperate... like she's some kinda victim? 
not buyin' it! The fact that she even linked her Chime account 2 the fundraisers shows how low she'll go. We gotta stay alert & verify those identities, or we'll end up gettin' taken advantage of like Chloe's fam did. This whole thing is just... *shakes head* 
it's just not right. we gotta be more careful online, especially when it comes to donating to others. i mean, u think one minute that money's gonna help the family, but really it's just some stranger's wallet gettin' emptied 
anyway, glad the authorities r on top of it & that scammers like white r being held accountable
. The victim's family (and everyone else affected by Camp Mystic) must be going through hell right now, and to add insult to injury, some random person comes along and tries to take advantage of them? 
. Don't donate to someone's fundraiser without verifying their identity first - it's just not worth the risk 
...
i mean i get it ppl need help but this is just insane. we gotta be so much more careful when donating online, especially to family members or loved ones in tragedy situations 
. This whole thing with Maitlin Paige White is just wild, you know? I mean, who creates fake fundraising accounts for themselves using someone else's name and image? That's just low. And what's even crazier is that she linked her bank account to the pages so people's money would actually go into her own account 
. I'm not gonna lie, I'm still getting a little anxious thinking about how many people might have fallen for it. But at least authorities are taking action and she's facing charges now 
. We gotta stay vigilant online and make sure we're looking out for each other when tragedy strikes 
anyway i guess desperation makes u do crazy stuff, but it's just soooo not cool to mess with people's emotions like that 
i mean i've seen some shady characters in my online shopping days, but this is on another level 
like what's the point of even creating fake accounts for a quick buck? and wow they actually used Chloe's dad name too 
.
.
. We can't just rely on the kindness of strangers; we need to verify identities and research before donating. It's a small step, but one that could make all the difference 
.
And to think she was trying to take advantage of an entire community that was already grieving the loss of Chloe 
. It's heartbreaking to see people like Maitlin Paige White who are willing to hurt others in their time of need.
. But at the same time, let's all take a moment to reflect on how we can prevent these types of scams from happening in the future 
.