{"id":16365,"date":"2016-05-19T22:55:47","date_gmt":"2016-05-19T22:55:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/?p=16365"},"modified":"2023-09-18T23:04:33","modified_gmt":"2023-09-18T23:04:33","slug":"scammers-attempt-to-profit-off-death-of-daughter-father-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/2016\/05\/19\/scammers-attempt-to-profit-off-death-of-daughter-father-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Scammers attempt to profit off death of daughter, father says"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY ALYSA LANDRY<\/strong>
\nSPECIAL TO THE TIMES<\/p>\n

LOWER FRUITLAND<\/strong> \u2013 Gary Mike is asking community members to be careful how they donate.<\/p>\n

Mike, father of 11-year-old Ashlynne Mike, said scammers are trying to profit from his daughter\u2019s death by setting up unauthorized fundraising accounts. Ashlynne Mike was kidnapped May 2 and found dead the following day. Nearly 2,000 people turned out for her funeral May 6, and fundraising efforts soon cropped up to help the family with expenses.<\/p>\n

But many of those accounts are shams, Mike said during a special San Juan Chapter meeting last week. The chapter approved a resolution seeking to curb fraudulent activities associated with Ashlynne Mike\u2019s name, and Mike has asked that all fundraising efforts be approved by him first.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are taking advantage of Ashlynne\u2019s passing for their benefit,\u201d San Juan Chapter President Rick Nez said. \u201cWe got word that people were going around selling burritos in her name, selling stuff at flea markets. We learned that GoFundMe accounts were active without the family\u2019s approval. Bank accounts were set up and after a couple of checks were deposited, all of a sudden the accounts were closed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although some of the efforts are legitimate, the family has asked for all unauthorized fundraising to stop.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know people mean well, but some of them are doing it just to make a buck,\u201d Nez said. \u201cWe need all of this to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Secure donations can be made in Ashlynne\u2019s name at any Wells Fargo branch. For questions about donations or fundraising, contact Mike at ashlynne.mike.in.memory@ gmail.com.<\/p>\n

During a press conference Thursday at the San Juan Chapter House, Mike spoke about his daughter, who he called \u201can innocent child.\u201d She will not see her 12th birthday, attend her high school prom, go to college, fall in love or get married, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur hurt in losing Ashlynne is still there,\u201d he said. \u201cYet our love for her will live forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike also thanked the community for standing with him throughout the ordeal. Local law enforcement officers and volunteers helped search for Ashlynne, and the family received messages of support from around the world, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout these individuals, my heart would be empty,\u201d he said. \u201cTheir help with prayers, well wishes and donations brings to my heart a job I haven\u2019t felt for some time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The San Juan Chapter will host a healing ceremony at 10 a.m. today. It is open to the public.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

NAVAJO TIMES | PHOTOS BY DONOVAN QUINTERO<\/p>\n

LaVina Benally helps lead a funeral procession with a photo of Ashlynne Mike adorning her motorcycle May 6 in Farmington.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A black and white photograph of Ashlynne Mike is centered on an \u201cIn Loving Memory\u201d poster during her funeral May 6 at the Farmington Civic Center in Farmington.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY ALYSA LANDRY SPECIAL TO THE TIMES LOWER FRUITLAND \u2013 Gary Mike is asking community members to be careful how<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16367,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[88],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16365"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16365\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16369,"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16365\/revisions\/16369"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}