A TikTok influencer is being accused of grifting her followers for donations to a charity that doesn’t even exist.
You might want to sit down for this WILD story! An Alabama influencer named Amy Diane Elmore Downs was arrested in her hometown of Athens after a three-year long investigation into her charity work. Cops are accusing the 57-year-old of pocketing more than $1 MILLION bucks rather than sending the donations to a domestic violence charity for homeless people. Disgusting…
Related: Todd Chrisley Got FIRED From His Prison Job — Here’s Why!
According to the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office, Downs spent three years pandering to her audience about a cause she claimed to be passionate about. She told her viewers she was raising funds to be donated to a charity that supported survivors of homelessness and domestic violence, while telling them to send cash directly to HER PayPal, CashApp, and Venmo accounts.
If sending money to her personally rather than a donation fund wasn’t enough of a red flag, her social media handles are slotmachinequeen and slot_7.0…
In a press release from the Sheriff’s Office Thursday, they alleged between 2021 and 2024 all the money was going straight to Downs because the charity she was supporting wasn’t even REAL. Investigators claim she was unemployed, too:
“During the investigation, it was revealed that no legitimate charity existed under Downs’ name. Further research uncovered that no charity had been registered with the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, and Downs had not reported any employment since 2020. Since 2021, Downs has deposited nearly one million dollars into her personal bank accounts under the guise of charitable donations.”
How awful!
TikTok user trey-street was the one to help blow the whistle on Downs’ alleged fraudulence, and they told AL.com one of the women who donated to the influencer was a survivor of DV herself, who explained to them:
“I have beat myself up for over a week. I had to call and explain to my husband what I had done. That was probably the most embarrassing and hardest part… It was a cause dear to me … If she don’t meet the judge on this side of the earth, she’s gonna meet it on the other, and I wouldn’t want to be in either spot.”
The director of DV outreach at Crisis Services of North Alabama, Cherrelle Lock, also had words on the situation. She told local outlet WAFF she was disappointed that someone would use such a good cause for selfish gain:
“It’s disheartening. It’s unbelievable to know something like that is happening in our community. Because there are individuals in our community that could really benefit from that. For those individuals in our community that support us, we make sure that we know where that funding is going toward.”
Downs was arrested and charged with seven counts of first-degree charitable fraud and three counts of tax evasion. Her bail was set at a WHOPPING $1,125,000 — but here’s the thing… it’s already been paid and she bonded out!
The investigation is still ongoing and the Sheriff’s Office is urging anyone with any information related to Downs and her “potential fraudulent activity” to come forward. They’re also urging anyone who may have been a victim of the alleged scam to contact them ASAP.
Such a seriously awful situation. An important reminder to be sure you’re donating directly to a cause and not an individual! Reactions, Perezcious readers?
[Image via Amy Diane Elmore Downs/TikTok/Limestone County Sheriff’s Office]
Related Posts
