U.S. District Attorney Craig Carpentino discusses the fake fundraisers during a Wednesday press conference. Image by Molly Boigon

By Molly Boigon December 11, 2019

Scam artists have set up a number of fake fundraising pages to solicit donations after the tragic shooting in Jersey City last night, the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey said in a Wednesday press conference.

“They’re creating fake GoFundMe pages to try and solicit donations, purportedly for the families of these victims, to line their pockets,” said U.S. Attorney Craig Carpentino. “I can’t — no words. I can’t find the words of how disgusting this conduct is.”

Carpentino said as of last night, there were no legitimate pages set up to benefit the victims, so anyone who gave donations has been inadvertently giving money to the scam artists. He did not quantify the number of fake sites, but the Forward has identified two.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis of the crisis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Carpentino encouraged any donors to contact the FBI and to check charities with the Jersey City police department to make sure money is going to a legitimate site. He said authorities are investigating the scammers.

“A reprehensible group of people are online, trying to profiteer off of the misfortune of others,” he said. “If anyone has any information about that, please contact the FBI immediately.”

Molly Boigon is the investigative reporter at the Forward. Contact her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter [@MollyBoigon](https://twitter.com/MollyBoigon

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount