A California woman faces charges for allegedly lying about the existence of a firefighter husband to raise money she claimed would go toward crews battling record-breaking wildfires, officials said.
Ashley Bemis, of San Clemente, was arrested Tuesday in connection to social media scam in which she allegedly swindled $11,000 worth of cash and gift donations from good Samartians, news station KTLA reported.
The 28-year-old woman reportedly posted Aug. 10 to a Facebook page claiming she was married to a firefighter named Shane Goodman, whom she said was fighting the raging Holy Fire in Riverside and Orange counties.
“On multiple social media pages, Bemis posted pictures of herself and her fictitious firefighter husband asking for donations,” the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “She solicited for items she claimed would benefit the firefighters working alongside her husband battling the blaze that ultimately burned more than 23,000 acres in the Cleveland National Forest and destroyed 18 structures.”
In the posts, Bemis suggested donations such as air mattresses, baby wipes and blankets.
Suspicions arose about the fundraiser when another California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection employee didn’t recognize her husband’s name and couldn’t find him in an internal database.
The employee reported the posts to the sheriff’s department in August and they opened an investigation into the alleged scam.
Officials obtained search warrants of Bemis’ vehicle, home and garages, where they discovered the donations intended for firefighters, according to KTLA.
The probe led to Bemis’ arrest on charges of felony grand theft, burglary, witness intimidation and making false financial statements.