Final update for those who gave to the Corey Baker GoFundMe campaign

[Maru Kitteh]

I received this communication from a detective in the Richmond Police Department this morning. Funds will be returned to those who gave. I am hurt and saddened that members of our community were taken advantage of, but I am very happy those people will have their funds returned.

DU is a community with a warm and open heart. I hope we will always remain so. While vigilance is always advisable, the shame of being cheated lies with the one who did the cheating. I believe we should thank all those who were kind enough to give for their open spirit, and be happy that their gift is coming back to them.

[cwydro]

1. Is Corey being prosecuted ?

That story was bogus from the beginning.

[Maru Kitteh]

2. I did not ask. I didn't know if they would tell me if I did ask, but it seemed

Last edited Tue Mar 7, 2017, 03:53 PM - Edit history (1)

like an inappropriate question, since I didn't personally give any money.

My primary concern was seeing that others here on DU saw their funds returned to them. Some who gave are older, disabled or on very fixed and limited incomes.

[cwydro]

6. Good for you for seeing this through.

I hope he's prosecuted.

Cons and scams should be prosecuted, especially since they do often single out those who can't afford to give.

[kstewart33]

40. Thank you for your good work.

I contributed and it's nice to see the money returned, but even better to know that this scam was identified and those responsible at now known by the police department. I hope they proceed with a prosecution.

Thanks Maru!

[no_hypocrisy]

3. I remember how generous DU was to donate to Andy Stephenson

when he needed our support. The Corey Baker appeal just demonstrates how we look after one another.

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[bravenak]

4. Very true. DUers are very giving.

I had hoped his story was true.

[Maru Kitteh]

9. On the other hand, I'm rather glad the story wasn't true. Severe head injuries are forever.

Many people experience great recoveries from severe head trauma, but devastating injuries to the brain almost always have some kind of life-long consequences. A person who has committed a crime or perpetrated a deception on people can learn from their mistakes and hopefully, change for the better - or at least they have that opportunity.

[bravenak]

10. Yep. Agreed.

I just found it sad to see people trying to rip folks off.

[Maeve]

5. Thank you for staying on this

You helped people who were being generous.

[malaise]

7. You're a good person Maru Kitteh

[Maru Kitteh]

11. And you malaise, are the very best of people. :-)

[malaise]

12. What you did for DUers who were duped here

is amazing. There are more than a few despicable humans on this planet

[pinboy3niner]

8. Importantly, this confirms that the scam was perpetrated by Corey himself

Not a hacker or a relative or friend using his account. It was Corey.

[cwydro]

13. Yes indeed.

Very sad.

[Kaleva]

27. And he's still a member of DU

[MADem]

42. Busily deleting his incriminating posts, from the looks of things....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028687672

[Hekate]

31. Has the issue of his membership been brought to the attention of MIRT and Skinner?

Corey really needs to be tombstoned.

[pinboy3niner]

33. I don't know, but in a way I'd like to see him return to post here

That would be a very interesting thread.

[Maru Kitteh]

35. Oh boy. Yeah, that would be an interesting thread.

Especially after posts like this:

I Am Shocked & Appalled That There Is Even A Notion This Is A Scam...

My brother is fighting for his life at this very moment and it is extremely disheartening to hear of all of this b.s. talk of a scam.

This is as real as real gets and the nerve of you doubters who think my family & I would make up such a story while my brother's in ICU is sickening. Shame on you...

[pinboy3niner]

37. I'd say his jump from death's door in ICU into the arms of Richmond police was pretty amazing

Especially in his condition.

[LaydeeBug]

14. You are so amazing to follow this through, but you really should ask about prosecution

We are all injured parties in this because we were targeted by right wing motherfuckers.

[Maru Kitteh]

17. I put out the ask for you. I'll let you know if I get an answer. I suspect perhaps

they will not be able to tell us? But I'll let you know.

[LaydeeBug]

21. That's awesome, I am just not sure you should be asking. You should be DEMANDING

And that's the point. We libs are just happy enough with refunding money and we will watch out next time.

Maybe this little motherfucker needs to know he can't hood wink people like that...maybe THEY need to be more careful next time and not target people just because they don't like their politics, or...

If the shoe were on the other foot...

How many charges do you think a liberal would be facing if one of us had targeted one of them?

[Marengo]

41. The motivation for this scam was political?

[LaydeeBug]

43. absolutely it was.

[Marengo]

44. Good Christ that's low. I wasn't paying close attention so missed that. What was the evidence?

[LaydeeBug]

45. Sorry that you missed it...

You'll have to look it up on your own though.

[Maru Kitteh]

29. So I received a reply.

RPD: OK I will check into this

MK: Thank you. People who could not afford to give money did so because of the emotional nature of the solicitation. I appreciate your time. Please feel free to call me if I may be of any assistance.

RPD: (redacted),

I wanted to let you know that I have spoken with Corey and the GoFundMe people... I provided GoFundMe with documentation showing that Corey's story line was not at all as he was making it seem. All the donations will be returned to GoFundMe and then refunded to those who donated.

I wanted to thank you for bringing this to my attention.

Detective Michelle Miller
Richmond Police Department

MK: Thank you Detective Miller. I appreciate your service, and your assistance and effort in this matter. I will let our community members know that their funds will be returned. I hope you have a very good day. 👍🏼

RPD: You are welcome!

MK: I hate to bother you any further, and you may not be able to answer this for me, but members of our community are asking if Corey is being charged with any offense. I completely understand if you are unable to tell us, but I did agree to ask the question. Thank you.

RPD: Corey has cooperated with me completely therefore, I will not pursue charges unless his cooperation changes.
Chat Conversation End

______________________________________________

Not what you wanted to hear, I know, but I promised to pass it along.

[LaydeeBug]

36. Thanks for that. You are awesome. nt

[Vinnie From Indy]

15. Well done!

Thank you for your efforts!

[HipChick]

16. Thank you Maru...a lot of PD now have CyberUnits that follow up on things like this...

[Maru Kitteh]

26. Life is digital, money is digital.

Having a PD without such a unit would be almost like having a PD without telephones or radios now.

[sheshe2]

18. You did great Maru.

Glad DUers will be getting their donations returned.

[pinboy3niner]

19. Curiously, the GFM page is still up but noted as "complete"

The status change they made a week ago is still there: "Campaign is complete and no longer active."

https://www.gofundme.com/27-year-old-injured-in-car-accident?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=email&utm_content=campaign_title&utm_campaign=donation_receiptv5

[Maru Kitteh]

23. Yeah, I don't really expect GoFundMe would put an alert up on it or anything, not good

for their image, you know?

The explanation provided by RPD makes sense. These matters rarely move as fast as one hopes they would, but I am happy people will get their money back.

You know he didn't shut down that campaign voluntarily. That tells me that some kind of action was probably taken by law enforcement.

I suspect if one of us ran a criminal background check in a month or two from now, some action would likely be seen.

[bathroommonkey76]

28. I contacted a couple of police departments in Ohio about this scam.

GFM might be keeping it up so they can investigate- I'll let everyone know if they contact me.

[Maru Kitteh]

34. Detective Michelle Miller of Richmond Indiana PD

is the one who contacted me.

[bathroommonkey76]

20. Glad you stayed on this Maru

I hope he's prosecuted and thrown in jail- People who do this type of shit are evil to the core.

I'd also like to thank the people who kept this going on DU-- They should be commended for sniffing this creep off the site.

[Maru Kitteh]

24. That would be you too BRM76. You and JenniferJunipers.

So thank you.

[cwydro]

25. Absolutely.

Anyone who is honest shouldn't have a problem with investigations of the various gofundme drives that show up here.

[dalton99a]

22. Great job!

[Hekate]

30. You have done a great kindness to this community, Maru Kitteh. Thank you.

[Fla Dem]

32. Thank you for the follow thru. Unfortunately, it's dishonest scammers like this that cause people

to not contribute to really worthwhile requests for help. I know I will probably not ever donate again. I did get my donation back, but it has left a very bad impression with me. Currently there is another long time DU'er who while specifically not requesting funding has asked that his gofundme page be shared by DU'ers. While I would like to believe this is on the up & up, .... once burnt....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1018930962

[AgadorSparticus]

38. That's good news! Cheers to you Maru Kitteh!

[lunatica]

39. I just received an email saying I'm being refunded for my donation!

thank you!

[Mendocino]

46. It seems his account

is still open. I wonder why?

*not directed at you MK, your diligence in this matter is greatly appreciated.