A Florida woman has been charged after investigators say she impersonated the father of a teenager killed during the Texas Hill Country floods at Camp Mystic and attempted to solicit donations online.
According to Harris County court records, 28-year-old Maitlin Paige White created separate fundraising pages on GoFundMe and Spotfund posing as Matthew Childress in the days following the death of his 18-year-old daughter, Chloe Childress, at Camp Mystic.
Chloe was working as a counselor at the all girl’s summer camp when flash flooding swept through the area. The July 4 flood killed 25 campers and two counselors and more than 130 people across the Texas Hill Country.
Authorities say White created the fundraising pages on July 8 — four days after Chloe’s death — using Childress’ name and a photo of his daughter without his consent. The pages asked the public to donate money to support the grieving family and both were linked to White through matching phone numbers, email addresses and bank information, police found.
When contacted by investigators, White told detectives she was “a single mother of 2 young children and was looking for a quick way to make some money,” according to court records.
White faces two felony charges of online impersonation, with each offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. She was charged in Harris County on Jan. 2 but has not yet been booked, court records show.
In a statement to The Texas Newsroom, GoFundMe said the fraudulent page was quickly taken down, refunds were returned to donors and White’s account was banned.
“GoFundMe has zero tolerance for the misuse of our platform and bad actors who seek to take advantage of the generosity of others,” the company said.
Verified fundraisers in support of flood recovery can be found here.
