VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A man has been arrested and accused of creating a fake GoFundMe account aimed at raising money for the loved ones of two fallen Virginia Beach Police officers.
VBPD Officers Cameron Girvin and Chris Reese were tragically killed in the line of duty on Feb. 22.
Just a day later on Feb. 23, Virginia Beach police were notified about a fraudulent GoFundMe page that was set up to receive money for Officers Girvin and Reese, according to a search warrant.
Watch: Fallen Virginia Beach officers had stellar reputations, chief says
Police say 25-year-old Caleb Mourning of Norfolk was arrested on March 20 on felony charges of computer fraud, embezzle or larceny greater than $1,000 and obtaining money by false pretense greater than $1,000.
They said Mourning did not receive any money.
Watch: Full celebration of life service for fallen VBPD Officers Girvin, Reese
Records state the fake fundraiser was titled, “Support families of Fallen Officers” and that it was organized by "Paul Neduigate." The Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate spells his name slightly different.
Police issued the following statement: “On behalf of the VBPD, we thank everyone within our community and across the country that has shown their support for our department, and for the loved ones of Cameron and Christopher. If you are interested in financially supporting the Girvin and Reese families, visit the VBPD website for verified fundraiser information.”
Mourning has a preliminary hearing scheduled for June 13.
Leaders at GoFundMe said Mourning didn't raise any money. They issued the following statement:
GoFundMe has zero tolerance for the misuse of our platform and we cooperate with law enforcement investigations of those accused of wrongdoing. Our team acted quickly to remove the fundraiser before it received any donations and banned this account from using our platform for any future fundraisers. The platform is also backed by the GoFundMe Giving Guaranteewhich offers donors a full refund in the rare case something isn’t right.
