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Fake GoFundMe and SpotFund pages created after the 2025 Texas floods have ended in a three-year prison sentence for Maitlin White, a 29-year-old from Crestview, Florida, who pleaded guilty to two counts of online impersonation in Harris County, Texas. White pretended to be the father of Chloe Childress, a 19-year-old from Houston who died in Kerr County while working as a counsellor at Camp Mystic. Harris County Constable Precinct One Alan Rosen, who confirmed the sentence, said in a statement published by KPRC that White preyed on the emotions of the community and abused a family already enduring an unimaginable tragedy.
The pages used the father’s name, Chloe’s photograph and an account of the family’s loss to appeal for donations, according to court records. He called her conduct inexcusable and said the case should serve as a warning to anyone planning similar schemes. Both appeared less than a week after the floods struck Central Texas. She admitted making the campaigns using Chloe’s likeness and her father’s name, and described herself as a single mother with young children looking for a quick way to earn. Court records also state that she is a single mother of two and that she set up the fake page using her mobile phone. He added that a family devastated by the loss of their daughter did not need someone profiting from her name.
