By Aaron Miller-
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued a warning to members of the public over scammers who may be trying to profit from the school shooting in Uvalde.
Following the shooting which saw 19 children and two teachers lose their lives when a shooter opened fire at Robb Elementary School on 18 May, scammers have been exploiting the potential of fundraising given the amount of money that has been raised.
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As the American public are still reeling from the scale of the killing by a crazed gunman, and the controversy surrounding gun laws.
The attorney general said Texans are ‘anxious to do whatever they can to alleviate the suffering’, but added: “Unfortunately, there are some individuals who may try to take advantage of tragedy to perpetrate scams. We caution all charitable givers to be aware and informed.”
The Texas Attorney General would ‘not tolerate anyone taking advantage of the goodwill and large-heartedness of our fellow Texans’.
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“Texans who wish to give money or services to assist their fellow Texans impacted by the Uvalde tragedy should take steps to ensure that their charitable dollars are going to the intended recipients and to legitimate causes,” the statement added.
The Attorney General recommended that donors give through legitimate charitable funding platforms such as GoFundMe, and to utilise charity watchdog group CharityWatch to help make informed choices about donations.
The statement added: “Do not trust a name or phone number. Scammers often use fake names and phone numbers to disguise their identity and area code.”
Paxton himself was recently accused of making “dishonest” statements in election litigation in an ethics petition filed by the Commission for Lawyer Discipline of the State Bar of Texas.
According to the petition, Paxton’s suit misrepresented that Texas had “uncovered substantial evidence” that raised serious doubts about the integrity of the election process in the four states.
The suit sought to overturn the election results in the battleground states of Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. The Supreme Court tossed the case the same month, citing a lack of standing to challenge election results in other states.
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