Woman accused of creating fake fundraiser for devastating Beaver County fire

BEAVER — A Layton woman is accused of setting up a fundraiser claiming she was a victim of a large wildfire in Beaver County over the summer, even though she doesn't live there.

Vanessa Christine Garcia, 39, is charged in 5th District Court with unlawful use of technology to commit fraud and communications fraud, both class A misdemeanors based on the amount of money she allegedly received.

In June, the Cottonwood Fire swept through Beaver County and devastated much of the Eagle Point Ski Resort and homes in the Beaver Mountain area.

In July, a woman who is an accountant for six condominium and two home owner associations at Eagle Point and the surrounding area, saw a story online from a Salt Lake City news station that included a GoFundMe account. The fundraiser was allegedly for a family who "lost a condo at Eagle Point resort (where) they live full time (due to) the recent fires," according to court documents.

The woman recognized the buildings in the pictures included with the fundraiser and told police she knows the homeowners personally. But the name associated with the GoFundMe account did not match any of the homeowners' names, court documents state, "and no one who lives up there knew the name associated with the story or the GoFundMe account.

"(The accountant) stated she asked other home owners and association members and no one knows this person and the name is not associated with any associations up there. (She) stated the pictures shown from (the fundraising account) also verify that (the defendant) does not live there like the story claimed," according to a search warrant affidavit.

After the accountant reached out to the news station who posted the story "and asked if they had vetted the story," the story was taken down after the station was unable to reach anyone to verify the fundraiser was legit, the affidavit states.

As of July 7, the account had 19 donations raising over $1,000.

The Beaver County Sheriff's Office was contacted and a deputy began tracing the fundraiser and the bank account associated with it, and eventually linked it back to Garcia, court records state.

The fire destroyed the Canyonside Lodge and the Tushar Ridge Warming Station, damaged four of the resort's five chairlifts and burned about 300 of the resort's 600 skiable acres. One hundred forty-five families lost their homes or condos.

"The fires devastated our community. Real victims have suffered real losses," Beaver County Attorney Von Christiansen told KSL. "It's hurtful to see someone capitalizing on other peoples' losses."

Garcia's first court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 9.