Woman accused in scam involving terminally ill Lake Norman girl, NC sheriff says
.jpg "A former Lake Norman-area woman was arrested in Arizona accused of a Lake Norman scam involving an unsuspecting terminally ill girl.")
A former Lake Norman-area woman was arrested in Arizona after Iredell County sheriff’s investigators accused her of scamming residents and businesses involving fundraisers for a girl with a life-threatening terminal illness.
The sheriff’s office first received reports in July of 53-year-old Troutman resident Tammy Ann Domenick’s ruse, Sheriff Darren Campbell said in a news release on Tuesday.
A woman told investigators that she had been scammed out of a supposed charitable donation, the sheriff said.
The victim’s mother told deputies that she met Domenick online and started what she thought was a friendship with her, according to the release.
The woman said Domenick told her she was a New York marketing professional with “high-level marketing and social media skills,” Campbell said.
The victim’s mother said Domenick offered to start a fundraising campaign for her young, terminally ill daughter, according to the sheriff’s office.
Domenick promised to host a major event called “LKN Fest” that she would tout on social media and to local news outlets to attract sponsors and donors, Campbell said.
Domencik said she would arrange Mooresville-area “Sip n’ Shop” events to promote the event, the sheriff said.
Businesses and individuals were scammed out of a total of $29,174 from January through August 2022, investigators found.
Donors gave Domenick money, jewelry, clothes, photo booths, health products and food, Campbell said.
None of the donations have been accounted for, the sheriff said.
Domenick fled to Arizona, where she was arrested on six counts of felony obtaining property by false pretense, according to the news release. She is contesting her extradition to North Carolina, Campbell said.