(no subject)
From: chipngrace@aol.com
To: downwithtrolls@hotmail.com
This is Gina.
Paul is completely 100% innocent and has not done a thing wrong here, but try to help a friend. He knew nothing about my lies until just this Friday morning, after this blog was started and my story came to question. I knew I was discovered and admitted everything. I made the entire thing up.
So, no, Paul did not mastermind anything. Everything he wrote on FOP is was based on information I gave him, either as myself or posing as "Blake". Please stop all accusations towards him, he has done nothing wrong. In fact, he went above and beyond to do the right things, all the time.
I am really sorry for the pain I've caused to everyone. I am paying back those I owe. I am seeking professional help. I got a referral from Dr. Marc F**** to some psychiatrists here, I have contacted them and should hear back from them the next business day. Again, I am really sorry for lying and causing such emotional pain and mistrust, and for making people question others in the future, and the transplant process. I never set out to hurt anybody, and I ended up hurting those I cared about the most.
I'm asking for forgiveness, not that I deserve it. I really am seeking the professional help I need and am going to give it my all.
Gina
Thank you, Gina. As we replied to her, this is no doubt one of the hardest things she has been confronted with, and while she may hate us right now, hopefully she will come to be thankful that someone (a whole SITE of someones, thank you Troll Busters!!) held her accountable, and made her clean up her life.
We know the true skeptics may doubt the validity of this email, but there's not a lot we can do for them at this point. We have an email from Paul as well. Updates to come.
131 comments:
LOL! It just keeps getting worse...
Whoever Gina is--if that is her real name--should be ashamed of herself!!! I hope that the FBI and other authorities get involved and charge her with fraud. That's all I can say w/o cursing and being too vulgar.
Yes the date and time are weird.... it is however possible she could have sent that from somewhere in the Eastern Time Zone. She may not be in MN today. The Sunday thing I have no idea.
To Gina---I am glad you are getting help and I will pray for you. The only way you can get better is to be honest about what you have done.
Good Luck to you.
AND...trust me...my post says 7:00 PM and it is not 7:00 PM where I am.
Does anyone think this is feeding her ego? I do she is still getting attention.
computer with a bad day:timestamp.
hardly unusual
strange
Does anyone think this letter sounds slightly contrived, rehearsed and convenient?
What a crock IMHO! Like we are suppose to believe anything she says now! I for one cant at this point!
Mel a/k/a JazzysMom & JustWant2Breathe
i put that first post. it is the correct time for where I live. weird. i guess it's all dependent on where the blog is set up or something. ?? who knows.
@7:06: it sounds detached, which is how she sounded last night, too. That seems fairly normal for people with personality disorders.
I think that the cysticfibrosis.com site is set on EST, which would make sense as the owner lives on the East coast. That post popped up at 9:18 pm EST by my clock at home as well.
I find it hard to swallow anything she says now, I don't think that she is genuinely sorry at all. I do hope that she gets some serious help though.
AHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH
AHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA
WHAT A F***ING CROCK OF BULLSHIT...
ANOTHER SCAM LETTER
Illinois and Minn are the same time zone.
I am big on commas so I notice them when they are used incorrectly.
The letter from Paul and from Gina has the same comma patterns, are used in the same way, and after the same odd phrasing.
The tone and syntax are the same in both letters.
I believe one person wrote both the Paul and Gina letter.
That's the date and time that has come across on our hotmail account. Not sure why? It appears correctly in the account, but when you click on it, it's very off.
This is the same for one of our personal hotmail accounts - we just checked it.
Anyone know why?
Corey...if I could see you I'd kiss you! ITA!
I agree....I think both Paul's and "Gina's " letters are a crock of sh!t.
Puleeze....she is not seeing any doctor. This is all fake.
To all involved, stop jerking us around...act like adults and fess up and not in contrived, fake emails. Give us proof. We deserve it!
Michelle
Actually DWT has the same comma patterns, over use, and phrasing. All three are written the same.
Interesting.
I was one of lots of people who spent a lot of time thinking and worrying about, praying and crying for Gina/Pepe/Peanut. I lost sleep over the sad and painful situation that appeared to be Pepe's reality.
Yesterday, I was mad and hurt over this whole thing. Today, I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that there are people who are this conniving and absurd. My day-to-day life does not include drama anywhere near this ridiculous. The people I associate with are honest and genuine. Thankfully, they have far better things to do with their time than make up elaborate stories (Paul) and blast them on the internet to mislead thousands of people.
Thanks for giving me a reality check and for reminding me how awesome the people in my life are.
Anon 7:23
I am on facebook. ;)
half the US population misuses commas. I think we're all so starving for information and clarity that we're getting a little X-file-ish.
CF Husband bashers/AKA A-holes....go away. Nate and Tricia haven't done anything wrong. You're being stupid. You can't compare the two.
Wow, Gina really needs help. And, anyone else that uses an illness to beg for money. Shame on you!
DWT, "Gina" and "Paul"'s letters all sound the same. What's up with that?
Also, leave CF Husband and his blog out of this. He is not scamming $$$$.
It makes sense to throw CF Husband into the fire. It takes the attention off of Paul aka Gina.
Time stamp is removed. A cross-error on our part. The original time stamp read:
Sent: Sun 8/17/08 9:13 AM
One of us corrected it in passing, thinking it would detract from the email itself. He corrected it incorrectly, obviously.
Apparently, as one commenter mentioned, we have a bad day:timestamp on our hotmail account.
She has posted this elsewhere about 20 minutes after she sent it to us.
That is true that most people misuse commas. But the misuse tends to be the same per person..kind of like a fingerprint.. Example..
Gina:
"..has not done a thing wrong here, but try"
"..such emotional pain and mistrust, and for making people"
Paul:
"..gets tested, but it remains the key to"
"..in this community, and healing for"
Look at DWT and you will see the patterns are the same there too.
I am an English teacher and that is THE most common comma error ever. You call this comma usage a 'finger print' ? Please!
Commas! Get real people! No one uses punctuation correctly when typing fast on a blog ! Jeeez!
i'm on the east coast and the timestamp on my post is showing 3 hours behind where I am...
I agree with Corey that they sound the same and look the same.
Commas are "properly" used before the word AND and before the word BUT
If I could get my own students to do this most basic of punctuation habits I would be very happy
Yawn.
This is getting even more boring than my real life -- and I have no life.
Maybe another flamewar?
Please refrain from attacking those not associated with this in comments.
We have not moderated comments to date, as we feel the readers need to "let off a little steam", but those being attacked have nothing to do with the blog at hand as it stands.
Thanks.
we're getting off track, people. this blog is not about nate and tricia. stop with the talk of them on here.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_commaproof.html
As a college writing professor, I will state that the e-mails from Gina and from Paul are unequivocally written by the same person, and that that person also authored the FOP site.
A scam, people. Nice try, Paul.
Down With the Trolls:
I respect you for this post:
Please refrain from attacking those not associated with this in comments.
Can you please tell us what made you want to create this blog? Many suspect you of being Paul/Gina/Pepe/Blake. The wrong date on "Gina's" e-mail did not help your cause.
Can you say anything to convince us that you're not him/her/them/whatever?
Quote Gina "I am seeking professional help. I got a referral from Dr. Marc F**** to some psychiatrists here, I have contacted them and should hear back from them the next business day."
what are you going to F'n try to scam us for money to see a shrink now . I hope if there is a hell you go to the most horrible ring and suffer for eternity , you have set back we Cfer's an eternity in the trust department .. go f*&^% yourself
Danny 31 CF 11 months post TX ..im not bullshitting you
Is it illegal to ask for donations on your personal blog?
I believe you can ask for donations or gifts as long as you aren't committing fraud and deceiving people. Not sure though.
this blog was started to talk about the Gina/Pepe thing. She was called a "troll." Remember the fairy tales? A troll was usually a creature who lived under a bridge, hididng away from people, and only coming out to accost a vulnerable person. A troll was something to be feared, because it had some sort of almost supernatural power. It was sub-human and could do damage to its victim--eating him alive, cutting off body parts, etc. The name is most apt for what Gina and others like her have done. If you think about it, she caused people to appear out of thin air--Pepe--and caused them to disappear again. Like a vampire or a parasite, she took over Paul's mind and thoughts. Trolls are usually depicted as being ugly and misshapen, and that is why they hide from public view. Gina has now retreated back under her bridge, into her cave, but she is still keeping watch and waiting for a chance to find another victim.
Any fishermen out there? Trolling also means to drag a line through the water hoping to snag an unsuspecting fish so you can take it home, cut its head off, and eat it.
PLEASE--THIS BLOG IS NOT ABOUT CFHUSBAND. There is NO WAY you can compare the two. The ONLY thing they have in common is cystic fibrosis. Obviously cfhusband is completely legitimate. The only thing I ever saw them ask for is prayer, which is the only thing of any real value anyway.
As Nate is NOT a troll, we have no business talking about him on here.
We have QUITE enough of a troll to deal with in Gina.
It is 11:11 here in NC--Michael Phelps just won his 8th medal--but my post will say 8:11
AMEN! anon 8:11!
A word about trust funds: Maybe it's not best for someone to ask people to donate for themselves. However, friends and family members should step up to the plate and do this for them if someone needs a lung transplant, especially if they have to move away from home like most do.
If it weren't for my son's transplant we would be in debt up to our eyeballs and my husband has a good salary. Unless you've been there, you don't understand how the bills mount up, even with a good insurance plan. For example, physical therapy alone was a $20 co-pay for each visit. He had to go 3 times a week while waiting for the call and after being discharged. Doctors visits were $20/month with 2 visits per week required. That's $400/month just for those two things - the tip of the iceberg. We had to return to St. Louis (8 hours away) for many months with gas, hotel, and food expenses. Transplant families need trust funds unless they are independently wealthy.
woohooo gooo Michael Phelps! and USA!! yay!!
oh, can someone post this Paul dude's blog site addy please?
woohooo gooo Michael Phelps! and USA!! yay!!
oh, can someone post this Paul dude's blog site addy please?
Is there any way to check ISPs? Wouldn't that tell you where these various blog posts and e-mails are coming from? Gina is in MN, Paul is in Chicago. ISPs could tell you if they are indeed coming from the same place, couldn't they?
It looks to me that paul, gina , blake and he may have more names
given the influx of folks at cf 2 chat..
who knows how many names he has...
I had this same kind of scam happen to me a few years ago, I thought I was chatting with 3 different people
over a year, it turned out to be the same woman,,
I caught her and ratted her out
to her husband !
I felt bad about that for a short
while.
but she was sick in the head too.
she has been seeing a doctor ever since.
yes, I saw her in person after her story was blown.
gina/blake/pauls story is blown also.............
To those who think THIS blog is also written by Paul--what motivation could he possibly have? What would he get out of it?
Anon 8:15 - I wrote that and meant to say, "If it weren't for my son's trust fund we would be in debt up to our eyeballs," not "my son's transplant." Boy, that could be taken the wrong way. Sorry about that.
Paul would not be in charge of THIS blog, it's ruining him!
FIORENTINO, GINA M (Age 25)
Available(1) Available SAINT MICHAEL, MN
OSSEO, MN Possible Relatives:
FIORENTINO, FREDERICK E (Age 61)
FIORENTINO, KATHLEEN A (Age 61)
FLORENTINO, GREGG F (Age 37)
WEEKS, ANGIEJEFFREY (Age 34)
FIORENTINO, KATHY A
FIORENTINO, GREGG F
INformation on MelissaData.com regarding a gina fiorentino in MN
25 yrs old
On DWT's last entry it says, "We have an email from Paul as well. Updates to come." That sounds fishy to me. Why not just post it? Is someone trying to think up what to put in a fake e-mail? DWT, please respond to the question posted earlier. Please tell us why you're interested in this. You already stated you are not in the CF community. Convince us you're not Paul trying to put all the blame on Gina, and/or get more attention.
Think for a minute if this site was set up by Paul he could be doing it for a number of reasons. First being he is saying that the FBI has been already contacted. Thus making sure no one else turned him in. Second he would be seeing all the evidence against him first hand, and giving himself time to figure out how to handle it before law enforcement would ever see it. What better way to find out what everyone has on him. Just my thoughts.
This has gotten really ugly! Perhaps its time to close comments and just email with info.
If Paul is innocent, why would he completely delete all things and feeds/cached etc... on his popular scam blog? If he was really innocent as the author of friendsofpepe and just relaying information, why would he go through the complicated process of deleting not just the blog, but all cached and feeds and links?
An innocent person would let the readers know, expose it himself and leave all posts.
Very, very suspicious behavior by Paul.
I knew someone who loved internet attention and started numerous blogs and scams and rumours to get attention. It is a sickness. She was caught starting a drama filled blog and then linking and mocking it just for the attention. Unfortuantely for her, she had sitemeter and forgot to make it private so someone could see all of her activity. It was truly hilarious.
This reminds me of that debacle a couple of years ago.
Paul is all of these people and probably has many identities and many blogs. It is not out of the question for this to be Paul's blog as well.
Both Gina and Paul need to video tape themselves stating what they have said in their confessions holding a newspaper with today's date and headlines.
Those of you doubting and trashing Nate and his family, watch out, something amazing is going to happen to you because you have thousands of people praying for you, I cant imagine what horrible things have happened to you that have made you so bittier and angry. Our God is an awesome God and our prayers will not go unanswered. Something amazing is going to slap you across the face and you will realize the love of God that has so amazingly blessed Nate and Trisha. I just pray that your heart with be in a place to receive it.
well....I have no problem AT ALL with letting her parents and job know
If there was even a hint of sincerity in that e-mail...I missed it! As a CF'er, and a transplant recipient i am totally enraged.
And maybe they should provide DNA samples too along with hair samples, retina scans...really people, enough's enough especially when you start bashing other sites that are legit. I think we have beaten this horse beyond dead.
HEY! 8:46. VERY good thought. We were wondering how they could prove validity. Maybe that's it??
As for Paul's email, we replied asking him to email us something for the readers of this site. He didn't tell us anything he had not said before, other than he feels naive about being fooled. He pointed out that many others in the CF community, and even a nurse on here were fooled as well.
We're waiting for that email.
yeah, really people. calm the hell down. you're getting weird and whipping yourselves up into some psycho frenzy. for instance, the post two above.
um, there is a Gina. she is real. it has been proven. she pretended to be Pepe. The only unknown anywhere, in any of this, is Paul's knowledge or lack of in relation to Gina being Pepe. It's not that confusing. seriously. people are starting to get wacko. analyzing commas for pete's sake. we all get it. we all want answers. creating more chaos and illogical suspicions is getting ridiculous.
IF this site is real, IF Gina is real, IF.... well, you get the idea. But, IF it really has been brought to the FBI for investigation, a simple trace of IP addresses and MAC addresses will be sufficient to prove everything.
Having personally invested a lot of time in reading the FOP blog, I'm angered and saddened. However, I must say that even as a non TX/CF/medically savvy person, some things seemed incredulous.
It will come to light. I have all the patience in the world.
If you go to CF sites, you may read about how people go to great lengths to hide their disease for many reasons. If they aren't too bad off, that is, not needing oxygen or IV's all of the time and are relatively healthy, it can be pulled off. I know I did...no one knew until I got sicker. I felt that by telling people that I had CF that they would treat me differently, perhaps not give me the same opportunities as others because they may deem me too sick or fragile.
Some people are very open about CF, others like their privacy. It is the same with any illness...I for one did not like any added attention either.
Just my thoughts...
For anyone who is doubting Nate.....all I can say is I don't think he's fake. And so what if people donated money to him to help pay for Tricia's hospital stay and her transplant. Many people donated to mine (granted it was not on the Internet) but they still did not know me.
I can assure you that many people who are in need of transplants, ask for help. That is actually one of the packets I was handed when I talked to the Tx docs for the first time....how to do fundraisers and raise money.
You want to know how expensive it all is?? Hospital stay for 2 months=about $500,000, travel back and forth to clinic and hotel stays=about $600 each time, 3 medical flights to the Tx hospital=$30,000, double lung and liver Tx (which is what I had)=about $500,000, hospital stay after Tx=about $100,000, place to stay after Tx=$1,500 for one month (that was paid for by the Boomer E. Foundation), Microspirometer that was necessary before leaving the hospital=$450, meds and diabetic supplies since the Tx=Thousands, and 4 more surgeries since the Tx due to a sternal wire coming through and removal/reconstruction of my colon=thousands more!!
Needless to say, we do have insurance but that does not pay for everything. Do you really think that (people who think Nate is fake) anyone could pay for all of this on their own and not ask for help? We couldn't! We have gone through about $16,000 in donated money plus about another $10,000 of our own and we still owe more!!
As for Paul.....the verdict is still out on him. I'm not sure what to believe anymore and I have been through it all!
Guys, this is not about Confessions of CF husband...how did the subject at hand switch to them? Are you going to pick him apart too and analyze his commas and punctuation as well? This is getting ridiculous...some people either have too much time on their hands or are paranoid enough to warrant psych help as well!!
From above- "well....I have no problem AT ALL with letting her parents and job know"
I do believe she lied, but setting out to completely ruin her is a not going to help anything. She needs real help, not attacks from people who do not even know her. She has an illness...just not the one she has claimed to have.
I have posted before that I wish this group would turn its energy--which is formidable--to good by supporting Paul, IF WE ARE SURE that he is for real (which I am leaning toward) because if so, he has been hurt most of all. If he is not, then let's find another way to turn this toward the positive. the blog chats have REALLY deteriorated today--so many hateful, hurtful, mean things being said. Let's not do this to each other. GINA is the one who did all of this. If we all fall apart, then she wins!!!! She has stolen a little money and worse, our emotions! I don't want to give that up to her. I want it back. No one can give it to me--I have to take it.
I believe that Paul was used horribly. I believe Gina Fiorentino is behind the fraud, alone. I believe she has done it before. I believe that cfhusband is for real, and very honorable and honest. I believe that DWT gave all of us who were concerned over the Pepe thing a place to figure things out. And we did!!! We did real good work, together as a team! We got so much information, shared it, talked to each other, supported each other.
Look at the way the blog is now. People in general have a tendency to take a good thing and ruin it. But we have minds, reason, mental health, and free will to decide how WE--each of us--will react. Let's take the high road. Adding more hate and negativity to what Gina has alreay caused IS WHAT SHE IS ALL ABOUT--not us.
COME ON! LET'S TURN THIS AROUND BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!!
And if I am wrong about paul then God help me, please, not to be the biggest idiot in the world!!
Karen
The from gina post shows no remorse. Just away for he/she/it to get more attention. She's apparently done this before and doubt she'll stop now. Will just move on. Was interesting that when everything blew up in Paul's face that Blake and Chipped Away were lurking on several CF sites. "Gina" was probably just kicking back and enjoying all the drama she caused.
I don't care if she gets help. There's a special place in HELL for people like that. What goes around comes around!
well, that is kind of the point--Gina WILL be judged--we all will be judged, and by God, not by any of us imperfect (sometimes warped) humans. We will have to answer for our own actions just like Gina will. I don't want to act like her. I don't want any of us to. I think it is proper for us to expose her to others so this kind of angst does not happen again, so that people's health does not get injured by emotional upset (especially when they have been through serious illness/transplant) or that people decide to NOT be organ donors because of it.
We HAVE GOT to take the upper road here.
Please.......
Karen
Roflmao
Now you guys are a lynch mob. Good grief. Commas?, please.
It's over, move on. Get a hobby....a more worthwhile hobby.
If DWT is not Paul, I apologize and you have done a good thing to bring all the people concerned about this together. However, I still have my doubts. I don't know of anyone besides FOP in the blogosphere who uses terminology like, "regrets abound."
No more on CFHusband. We would hate to have to turn of anonymous comments.
He is not on trial here. If you believe he is a troll, please prosecute him elsewhere. We have visited his blog, and haven't found reference to him asking for money in many months. We also can't find a link to donating to his wife's fund.
Please keep in mind that his site went from a family and friends blog to national celebrity overnight, much like Pepe's, and as we have learned from this blog, that's a learning experience, where not everything we do is perfect.
Since he's not a troll, he doesn't belong in discussions on a trolling blog.
Regarding commas-sounds like Gina is obsessed with Paul. Since she reads everything he writes and he is a good writer, it is a safe bet that she emulates his writing style and grammar.
Please don't throw Nathan and Trisha under the bus. They are for real and don't deserve the nasty remarks. I know a lot of us have a bunch of raw emotions right now (I for one am pissed and want to deck this Gina)but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.
I have read Paul's blog in it's entirety, watched his video of him walking up the "switchbacks" in Pittsburgh. I believe his story is real. I too am confused as to how a seemingly smart guy could be duped by this Gina. I've known lots of people that have fallen for the wrong romantic partner and as a result have done things completely out of character. I do hope this is what has happened here. I do hope he did nothing nefarious. I believe there would be nothing for him to gain by doing so.
Paula
Nate is a TOOL, not a troll.
DWT, can you please start a "down with tools" blog?
Looks like she is trying to pass off having another illness on a horse forum.
http://www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/team_messageboard_thread.asp?board=-1x12045x17413940
She's trying to say she has Asperger's Syndrome
Paul,
I gotta hand it to ya. You have 'em all goin' here.
How stupid, who even cares if he was able to stay in the hotel due to donations from his blog? Many, many, MANY people make money from blogs dimwit.
Not only that but when my son was in ICU the hospital paid for us to stay in a hotel a few nights and organizations through the hospital and non profit programs also help people with accomidations when they are the next of kin of a critically ill person.
Quit being stupid about things you know NOTHING about.
I personally recall Nathan many times asking people NOT to send anymore things his way, but rather to donate money to CF research organizations.
If you are so adamant in what you are saying and beleive it to be true, why remain anonymous? Coward.
Nathan has already seen it.
Unfortunately, some of the commenters are trolls themselves, posting again and again to keep the flames going.
Got to love the irony in a Trolling blog having trolls.
Are any of you lawyers?? Financial consultants, Or have years of expirence in the set up, management, and ownership Trust Accounts, or lets take it one step beyond, How about a Special Needs Trust account?? How many of you are in a postion to talk about how a trust fund works? How many of you have a trust fund? How many of you know what a trust fund can and can not be used for? How many of you know what type of Govt. tracking is involved in a trust funds withdrawls? How many of you know that a trust funds can not be used for "whatever, Whenever", by whoever.
Be carful what you assume, as you may not know what you are talking about from a legal stand point.
DWT,
Please do NOT delete the comments about Nate and his family. THere are equal pros and cons. Nate chose to put himself out there on the internet and obviously, there is much concern. People need to be aware of all sides.
Thank you,
DWT if you have any morale code please delete anon post at 952!
and to 952 and other anon...you should be ashamed of yourself. I cannot believe there are people as evil as you out in the world!
Please delete or turn off anon!
Lauren
Sorry - we have had enough bashing of people in no way involved in this story. Anonymous comments are off from now on, and comments regarding individuals not related to this Troll Case will be deleted here on out.
It seems to me that this Paul character and Gina do not even exist in real life. So let's all move on. Do not give them the attention they are seeking.
When this blog was started I was happy because I felt that it was a positive reaction to a very very ugly situation that had hurt so many people. I felt like we were taking steps to make the Pepe situation right. And it definitely started off that way. But today I feel sick all over again. You people talking about Nate in such disgusting ways are every bit as sick as Gina.
Again, trolls crawling out from under their slimy little caves in the darkness of anonymity to see who they can hurt now.
You are also ignorant.
DWT--thanks. It was a great idea but like with all good things, people have to destroy it. I feel sorry for humanity in general to have that rotten core underneath. We do not have to worry about terrorists or Russians or whatever--we will, and are, destroying ourselves. We are killing what is human in us and devolving into animals--trolls.
Not me.
I'm out. Cya.
Karen
Thank you for changing the settings... this was getting really disgusting and spiraling out of control in a very bad way.
thank goodness. that was getting really creepy. can you say obsessed with someone's sex life much? geez. CF H had a troll that he's been dealing with for some time, and he had to block them/delete them a lot. I caught a couple of their comments once before they got deleted...and this weirdo pervy troll sounds pretty similar. They prob'ly thought this could be their new outlet.
Anyhoo...maybe this blog can get back to purpose. :)
Please post link to Paul's site. Thank you.
Wow, Gina is posting on another site claiming a new disease!
"Hi, I joined Spark People today, my name is Gina and I am 25 years old with Asperger's Syndrome (diagnosed last year). Nice to meet you all!"
http://www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/team_messageboard_thread.asp?board=-1x12045x17413940
Wow, Gina is posting on another site claiming a new disease!
"Hi, I joined Spark People today, my name is Gina and I am 25 years old with Asperger's Syndrome (diagnosed last year). Nice to meet you all!"
http://www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/team_messageboard_thread.asp?board=-1x12045x17413940
http://www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/team_messageboard_thread.asp?board=-1x12045x17413940
LOOK..GINA IS USING SAME EMAIL ADDY ON THE SITE TOO!!! WHOA!
I don't believe Gina even exists. What kind of letter is that? Why even bother, if no one even knows her in real life? It is quite transparent this is BS all around.
and why all the bashing of Nate here? ISN'T THIS ABOUT PAUL & GINA!?!?!?!
I'm really sure Nate is who he says he is. get a life.
I think everyone is being duped once again with THIS blog!
I think people are duped with this site, too. Why would someone who's relative died of a different disease than CF (see DWT comment above at 8:51), and who only read FOP for one month (see "Pepe is a Fake" blog) go to the trouble of making this site, much less go to the trouble of all this investigating and taking it upon himself to contact the FBI? Why does DWT and FOP both refer to "we" in the blogs? (multiple personalities?) Why does DWT believe Paul had nothing to do with the deception? Why does FOP language and DWT language sound similar? FOP said Pepe was "waxing nostalgic" for greasy potato chips and DWT said after referring to Gina's age on the post above (8:51) that "regrets abound" (9:29). Most people don't speak that way on a blog. I guess we'll know for sure it's Paul when this site is taken down, too. If I'm wrong, sorry DWT.
hmmm the very last lineof this post (Updates to come.) resonates with Gina's blog.
duped!
why is down with trolls anonymous? hmmm...this whole thing just reeks of BS! ugh! turning away from the dram. (so sorry I got sucked into this!).hey I have any idea everyone go DO something in real life with those you love and stop worrying about scammers. karma will bite some butt.
First of all....to those of you who revealed that Micheal Phelps won another gold, you suck! I just sat down to read this blog and watch the race! Thanks. : )
Anon-9:34, You're a sad, little person.
Paul and the details. I always found that very odd that he wrote so much detail. Did he write down all the numbers as they were either or told emailed to him? Did he think giving details who make him sound authentic?
I have to say this would be a great movie. Very disturbing.
Anon @ 8:15
It's perfectly LEGAL for Tricia (or any CFer) to ask for donations... to her trust fund... on her website.
Find me a Caringbridge site that does not include a link to a trust fund, requests for donations to help with medical/transplant (or funeral) expenses, or gift cards, phone cards, plane tickets, etc.
Even with good insurance, patients may need to pay for various things, such as a portion of their medicines, insurance premiums, and other costs.
There is NO shame in asking for help... Hello! We're not talking about FAKE CFers like "Pepe!"
As you may know, fundraising is encouraged by many transplant centers around the country.
The National Foundation for Transplants (www.transplantfund.org) help transplant patients raise money for medical expenses.
I had to come back and ask one last question,
who is down with the trolls? why is this blog anonymous?
Personally I think "down with trolls" is Paul and he (or whomever is behind the whole scam) is really just covering his ass so no one REALLY does make a police report,etc/ I really highly doubt the FBI is going to care about people giving money to people THEY DON'T KNOW on the internet. As for a lawyer do you think anyone is going to pony up the cash for that? really? Anywho, it's kind of a free market for scammers out there on the internet so if you get scammed don't cry to hard! You need to use caution and not cry when the person you DON'T KNOW on the other side of the screen is SOMEONE YOU DON'T KNOW.
Sounds like there are a lot of people who need to get a social life apart from their computer! Wow. I find it hard to believe that so many emotions have been so strong. I was also duped by Paul and Gina. But I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.
FYI, when we (my wife and I) set up Tricia's trust fund (which is administered by "trustees", not Tricia or Nathan) we originally ask for 65 people to participate. All people who know and love them. We knew their expenses associated with the prospect (at that time 2 years out) of a transplant would be far beyond their abilities. And we knew that caring friends would want to help.
Nathan's blog has never been about raising money for the trust fund. When asked about how to help he has reluctantly directed inquisitors to the fund, but in very limited cases. More often he has asked people to donate to CFF or their local crisis pregnancy centers or other charities. His blog has raised quite a bit of money for those causes.
He also knew when the blog became more than a family and friends thing that there would be criticisms from the skeptical and the ignorant. There's no way, even via a blog where he's been open and honest about a lot of personal items in their lives, that those reading can really "know" him or Tricia.
And you don't know me either. I realize that. But I'm no hermit here in my community. My reputation means everything to the career I have chosen. And the blog(s) are read by those in our community who could easily expose us for frauds if that were the case. Both Nathan and I have very public roles here.
You know where we live, where we work. We link our blogs to others who know us. So, for the thinking out there, if Nathan's blog was a scam it would have been exposed long ago.
I have NO sympathy for Gina. She has made a joke of some of us who have REALLY had a transplant, including Paul, and are trying to raise awareness via our blogs... If her blog as put ANYONE off of becoming an organ donor or getting a lung tx, she deserves to go to prison.
Hi Halrow3,
I'll glady address your skepticisms.
First, you are correct in that the "trustees" are in Tricia's family. You are wrong in saying that it is "Nate's fund". It is not. It is set up legally and for a single purpose: to assist them with expenses related to her medical needs. And who better to set up and manage such a fund but the people who love her most?
Second, you are very wrong that we've asked anyone on the internet to contribute. And here's where you lose your bet. The fund has "tripled" as you say, because people have heard the story via internet, television and the printed media and have asked us "How can we help them."
More often than not Nathan has directed inquiries about helping financially to CFF, LLS and other such research organizations. I can't remember the last time he has even mentioned the trust fund. That was never his motive for the blog.
You are wrong in assuming that Nathan has no job. In fact he worked the entire time he was in Durham and maintained his job which also maintained their insurance policy which is providing for the majority of the hospital expenses.
But I wonder how many millions of dollars your expenses have cost you, since you're making the comparison of how you pay for your expenses with them? I doubt there's a comparison.
That you have worked 3 jobs is admirable. They are blessed that they haven't had to do that. Is that a hard thing to appreciate?
And thanks for telling us all what is best for us.
We (including Nathan, Tricia and their families) support with our gifts and our labor reputable charities, and will continue to do so. And we encourage multiple thousands to do the same.
As for the intentions of the charities, we trust (key word there)that they are sincere and honest. But even they can "scam" us, can't they. Remember the American Red Cross just a few years ago?
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