Officials in Stanislaus County, California are warning the public of possible scams to defraud people who genuinely want to help the family of a deputy recently killed in the line of duty.
53-year-old sheriff’s deputy Dennis Wallace was killed Sunday morning at Fox Grove fishing access when he went to check on a suspicious vehicle. The 37-year-old suspect is in custody.
The sheriff’s dept. in Stanislaus County is now issuing a warning to members of the community who want to help out the victim’s family. They say a few GoFundMe accounts have cropped up, in the wake of Deputy Wallace’s death, which appear to be illegitimate.
“As with any tragedy there are always those criminals who find a way to take advantage of the great people in our community who want to help,” the sheriff’s department stated in a news release.
Officials say if you’d like to make a donation, and you are using Go Fund Me to do so, be sure that you’re donating to people you know and trust. According to the Turlock Journal, detectives are looking into two accounts that could possibly be online scams. The dept is also warning the public about telephone solicitations being made in Wallace’s name—which are also phony.
The official channel to make a donation to the Wallace family is through a Memorial fund established by the Stanislaus Sworn Deputies Association.
Donations can be made in person at any West America Bank branch to the Dennis Wallace Memorial Fund. They can also be made by mail to: Stanislaus Sworn Deputies Association, PO Box 2314, Ceres, CA 95307, or online at https://www.stanislaussworn.com/donation.html.
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