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Scammers set up fake online fundraiser for family of B.C. border crash victim

Fraudulent GoFundMe page caught and shut down, as real campaign nears $100K goal
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One man was arrested and released following the May 2 collision at the Douglas/Peace Arch border. (File photo)

Friends of the pastor killed in last week鈥檚 fiery crash at the border say someone tried to capitalize on fundraising efforts meant to support Rev. Tom Cheung鈥檚 family.

Pastor Peter Teh of Port Moody Pacific Grace MB Church said Thursday that a fake GoFundMe account that closely duplicated one that launched Saturday has been shut down.

鈥淲e created a website through the gofundme.com, then someone actually copied the front page and created another one, with a different title,鈥 Teh told Peace Arch 亚洲天堂.

鈥淪omeone noticed, so we informed GoFundMe and they took it off, immediately.鈥

Teh did not know if anyone had donated to the second site.

鈥淚t鈥檚 sad, people taking advantage of such tragedy.鈥

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He said he was not surprised, however, by the groundswell of support for , which aims to raise $100,000 for Cheung鈥檚 wife and three children.

As of Thursday afternoon, more than $90,000 had been donated.

It was launched, Teh said, in response to the number of requests to help.

鈥淓ven before we created a website, a lot of people were asking how they could help financially,鈥 he said.

Cheung was the breadwinner for his family, and popular with his congregation, Teh said.

鈥淧eople just love him,鈥 he said.

Teh said the pastor had travelled to the states to pick up some books on May 2, the day of the crash.

He died around 11:30 a.m., after a Porsche Cayenne SUV slammed into the Toyota Sienna van he was driving in the northbound-approach lanes of the Douglas (Peace Arch) border. The vehicles came to rest in a garden that adorns the Peace Arch Park median, and the van burst into flames.

A Washington State man was arrested at the scene, and police announced the following day that he had been released in consultation with the BC Prosecution Service. No further updates have been issued.

Teh, who described Cheung as a friend of more than 20 years, said Cheung鈥檚 family only got confirmation from police Wednesday that DNA testing had positively identified their patriarch as the crash victim, 鈥渟o they are going through a hard time today,鈥 he said.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e Christian, continue to pray for the family,鈥 he said.

A service has not yet been planned.



Tracy Holmes

About the Author: Tracy Holmes

Tracy Holmes has been a reporter with Peace Arch 亚洲天堂 since 1997.
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