A few years ago -after being contacted by Ardsley residents who learned of a sad story - a single mom who was dying of cancer - I posted the information on the town website and on many social media. Our community responded and donated many thousands of dollars to Shivonie Deokaran to help her children (students at Ardsley schools) and her family during a very difficult time. There was an additional fundraiser at the Ardsley Fire House -attended by many.
Sadly, it was a scam. Shivonie did not have cancer. She pleaded guilty (see Westchester Business Journal article link below).
If you made a donation to Shivonie and learned of her sad story from these e mail blasts - I'm sorry that you were taken advantage of and lied to. Fortunately, GoFundMe is willing to reimburse you and will give you a refund if you made a donation thru gofundme.
The link to the gofundme site is below. I requested a refund for my personal donation yesterday and got an e mail response back that I will get the refund within a week.
https://www.gofundme.com/guarantee-refund-policy
https://westfaironline.com/98264/gofundme-appeal-results-in-guilty-plea-from-ardsley-cancer-victim/
