All,
People who knew "SS" are crushed about this latest development, and we feel it's warranted to pull down her picture, and not cause anymore pain to those who lost her.
Our goal was to identify her, and we have done that. As for her friend on the right, we will email the picture to friends of Gina's and ask if she is Gina. We will also wait for a response from someone who knew SS and can verify that the young woman in the picture IS from Florida and still resides there.
We are doing this out of respect for SS's family and friends. Hopefully everyone can understand that.
Here's the text that was with the picture:
"a few weeks ago at ~78 pounds, so a little heavier than i am now, and quite stoned looking lol"
Can anyone help us identify this sweet girl? She is obviously not well, and we're fairly certain she did not give Gina permission to use her likeness.
150 comments:
MUNCHAUSEN BY INTERNET: FAKING ILLNESS ONLINE
by Marc D. Feldman
http://www.selfhelpmagazine.com/articles/chronic/faking.html
Clues to Detection of False Claims - Based on experience with two dozen cases of Munchausen by Internet, I have arrived at a list of clues to the detection of factititous Internet claims. The most important follow:
1. the posts consistently duplicate material in other posts, in books, or on health-related websites;
2. the characteristics of the supposed illness emerge as caricatures;
3. near-fatal bouts of illness alternate with miraculous recoveries;
4. claims are fantastic, contradicted by subsequent posts, or flatly disproved;
5. there are continual dramatic events in the person's life, especially when other group members have become the focus of attention;
6. there is feigned blitheness about crises (e.g., going into septic shock) that will predictably attract immediate attention;
7. others apparently posting on behalf of the individual (e.g., family members, friends) have identical patterns of writing.
Maybe there isn't even a Gina. I think it's interesting that there is a CF Law that is named GINA.
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, GINA.
http://cysticfibrosis.about.com/b/2008/08/04/gene-meets-gina.htm
Ok, so I'm probably really stretching it here, but if I were writing this story, I could see how I could have come up with my own name while researching CF. Great story.
Ok, so I don't think its a law specific to just CF, but you get what I'm trying to say.
It looks like a girl I know from another CF/Tx girl...
If it is her then she passed away last year....
I have emailed her best friend to verify for sure it is her...
fr3ak cf/tx 2002
"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." Gina
Is Gina referring to Marc D. Feldman that Mary Lou mentioned in her previous post? Did Gina contact him and where did she get that name?
Another thing....again I think it's interesting that "Gina" gives details even down to the name of the Dr. to suggest that what she is doing is real.
Yes she is. Good catch. And we think we have located the young woman in the picture. She passed away June, 2007 from CF.
Gina sent this picture out in November, 2007, after her death.
Oh, GOD! That woman with CF in the picture is S. S. (don't want to give out her real name here) from Florida who died last year. I have alerted her mother about this now.
"Gina" is truly sick in the head.
meow meow,
thats who I thought it was too :(
fr3ak cf/dltx 2002
The other woman in the picture isn't even "Gina" either. It's one of S. S.'s best friends, K., in real life.
Wow. Just sick.
What do you mean it's not Gina? It looks just like the girl on the horse?
I agree meow meow, simply sick and in such bad taste to use a dead girls picture...
It looks like Gina on the right in the yellow shirt. Maybe it was a typo and she meant to say 278lbs or 178lbs.
What is interesting is that I remember Gina saying that she was down to 78 lbs in FOP...anyone remember that? She was obviously emulating this poor woman. God, that is just so sick.
I have not felt literally sick to my stomach about all this until now. I figured out who this was and read in the mother's journal that S.S.'s camera came up missing in the hospital a couple of weeks before she passed away, and there was one particular priceless photo that she wanted. She asked that if anyone had it, to please just send her the photos even if they kept the camera.
Good God. More of Gina's crimes are being revealed all the time. I feel terrible for the family of that poor girl that was exploited. If that were my deceased daughter being used like that, I would just explode. Once Gina has been tracked down, I sure hope her computer is the first thing taken away from her. Like I said before, she is an emotional terrorist. I have not patience or sympathy for her.
I think Chimera is right on. Gina went trolling for Munchausen docs and fabricated an apology and that she is seeking help. She doesn't want help. She gets off on this.
If Gina has a fear of handcuffs, she had better prepare herself.
Paula
So the camera went missing from a hospital in Florida in 2007?
We have received 10+ emails from people who have talked to Gina. Every one states that she is not remorseful in the least. She is "trying to play the victim", and blaming her actions on Asperger's.
Paula, you will be happy to know that Gina is online and chatting/IMing as we sit here.
And we are equally as disgusted here at DWT.
I did a search on the yahoo cysticfibrosispenpal group with her pen name JedisdreamAPHA and read through the results. All sixteen of them...it is definitely Gina as she signs her name at the end of her messages many times and references to her horses and living in MN. She was also a part of this group since 2002...that's right, she has been drifting from CF community to CF communities for at least 6 years now, plenty of time to befriend many and learn the intricate details about CF.
Sick...
This woman is completely deranged. I think that her family should be notified so that she gets some help. Electroshock therapy might be useful!
Yes. The camera came up missing on a day that S.S. was particularly alert and the mother was very happy that day. Two days later she was put on the vent, and she passed away about 2 weeks later. I'm just sick. Of course, we don't know for sure that she wasn't given this picture or that she didn't have it taken with her own camera, but I wouldn't doubt one bit that Gina stole the camera.
I'm still confused about Meow's comment that the other girl is not Gina. It looks exactly like the girl on the horse that everyone has identified as Gina. Please explain, Meow.
Yes, I just remembered now. S. S. did lose her camera at hospital before she died and she frantically posted about it.
However, I'm not sure if this is how "Gina" got S. S's pictures because this hospital is in Florida. I believe "Gina" just simply stole the pictures off the websites / forums / etc. where S. S. posted her pictures.
Ok, Paul is NOT Pepe!
And... "Pepe" loved Paul!
I found these messages from "Pepe" in Paul's (Q/clamshellmuni) guestbook.
The entries were dated 10/10/07 and 10/8/07... just after he got his lung transplant.
I think this proves once and for all that Paul and "Pepe" are NOT the same person.
Paul -- If I were you, I would NOT delete the guestbook or anything else from your site.
It may be embarrassing, but it's proof that you had no idea who "Pepe" was back in 2007.
136 October 10, 2007 - 06:01 AM
pepe
I just wanted to say, thanks for going first, you sounded brave and strong when we talked before you went down, and I've been living off that for the last few days. Stay strong, and know that I love you. <3
169 October 08, 2007 - 09:43 PM
pepe
Courage!
On previous post when I said, "Yes" I was answering the question from Karen, "So the camera went missing from a hospital in Florida in 2007?" S.S. lived in Florida and passed away in 2007. There's a picture of her on her mother's web journal and it is defintely the same girl shown here with "Gina."
We are almost certain we have identified the woman on the right.
She is most definitely NOT Gina.
Here's the link...
http://clamshellmuni.org/guestbook/index.php?page=14&PHPSESSID=b2332a23e2e9f41fe9dd53e8ad369b8f
136 October 10, 2007 - 06:01 AM
pepe
I just wanted to say, thanks for going first, you sounded brave and strong when we talked before you went down, and I've been living off that for the last few days. Stay strong, and know that I love you. <3
169 October 08, 2007 - 09:43 PM
pepe
Courage!
Unless I'm really confused here, Meow is saying that the girl in the photo with S.S. is not Gina. She is saying that since Gina is from MN and not Florida, then she couldn't have been there to steal the camera, which means she couldn't have been there to have her picture taken with S.S. If she got this photo with S.S. from the internet, then she would have gotten the ones on the horse from the internet, too, because it's the same person. MeowMeow is also a name that could possibly be mocking the nickname of S.S.,that her family used lovingly to refer to her. Meow, are you Gina?
Mary Lou,
The person in the picture is NOT Gina. We are now completely certain, but since she is innocent, we aren't (and ask that no one else) sharing her name.
The stolen camera has nothing to do with this picture from what we can tell.
Gina needs to research Asperger's as well as she has CF. Asperger's is part of Autism and it is very difficult for these kind of people to lie.
Maybe someone has multiple personality disorder? Could that make you write letters to yourself?
I pulled the photos up and wow, they really do look alike. Hard to say for sure, but now this is getting really confusing....
Now, that makes sense. "Gina" is really Krystal? DWT, what do you think. Would this make sense and not contradict anything else you guys have come up with?
Mary Lou, we totally agree. They look alike.
That's why we had to triple and quadruple check. It is most definitely NOT Gina.
I would just like to share. Someone mentioned the cystic fibrosis pen pal group. I never had concrete proof but I believe the owner of that group is a fake. His name is David I believe or cfkid/onecfkid. He was on another cf group a few years back. People were nice to him but he got real fishy. Claiming to have one ailment after another, especially when another member was truly sick. He then on one board, claimed to have cf, leukemia, and another type of cancer (i can't remember of what). He also claimed to be septic. Several times but all within days of each other, and once better he was back home. He would then have friends or family members post for him while he was 'in the hospital'. All of which were boys between the ages of 10-13. creepy. And they all had the exact writing style and same misspelled words. If I had read that Münchhausen by internet years ago i would have yelled at the screen saying "thats him!". I realize this is about another person. But since there is a small connection between the two people I thought I would mention it. I highly doubt these two are the same though. David had a very unique writing style and is easy to figure out. I just always have to warn people when I see it mentioned. And maybe there is need to investigate the other site more? I dunno
I have left a message for S's mother, also.
If I find out that Krystal & "Gina" are the same person then I am going to be REAL sick. It's just way too hard to believe it.
Although they look a bit similar, the face is longer in S.S's friend than Gina's, her nose is different too. It is hard to tell for sure though..
DWT, you could triple, quadruple, or quintuple-check and it would still be the same face in the picture with S.S. and in the photo of a girl standing beside a horse.
I think it's just the angle that makes her face look longer. Her eyes are very destinctive.
Amanda, from the posts that I read, it seems that David and Gina were chummy and even talked on the phone, she even invited him to one of her horse shows.
Also, didn't he post on cysticfibrosis.com as well regarding meeting up in MN?
He seemed fishy to me as well from what I read.
I guess it takes all kinds to make up this world...
Well whether the other girl in the pic is Gina or not, do you all think that Gina was in Florida at that time and that perhaps that is why the camera went missing?
Karen,
The woman in that picture (next to S.) lives in Florida while "Gina" lives in another state (Minnesota?). So, I don't believe they are the same person.
Lee
thanks--
DANG this girl is so cruel!
DWT, Do you know for SURE that "Gina" lives in MN ? I know that is what she has posted, but with so many lies, it's hard to know what she SAID vs. what has been verified...
I am pretty sure it was established that Gina lived in NM with her parents (the names were easily tracked down) in earlier posts to this site.
Tina,
From what I have read on DWT, Gina lives in a place called Saint Michael, MN and works at a bank there
In an earlier post someone found her cached Myspace page and it has lots of info she posted herself (supposedly, anyway!) and a pic
On one of the URLs that someone posted on here, she said her favorite quote was 'Don't criticize someone until you have walked a mile in his shoes--then you are a mile away AND you have his shoes"
Chilling, isn't it!
I would very much like to agree that I think "Gina" just stole the name of Dr. Feldman to fake an apology.
I would also like to say that I have suspected David of being a fake too... maybe he's not, maybe he has CF, but talking to him has always been very strange. I will ask him questions about his condition and he will be vague - or not answer at all. I still get the emails from the group - but I ignore them b/c I find it so weird.
~Carla. Someone with CF who thinks this is one really screwed up crazy mess. And I feel so awful for the family of S.S. I didn't know her - but I can't imagine finding out that your dead daughter's image is being used to fake a story about the illness that killed her.
When Gina signed onto one of the message boards yesterday, her IP address matched her to a location in Saint Michael, Minnesota. It was verified by an admin, who was verifying that Paul and Gina were two separate people, signing on from two separate locations.
Her place of employment is also in Minnesota, and we have had two friends email us who live in her town there as well.
It was brought to our attention that Pepe's story was eerily similar to the young woman's in the picture. For those wondering where Gina obtained her medical information, it seems we may have found the source - another TRUE blog.
Karen,that is such a fitting quote for her and is really disturbing to say the least as it is true to her.
"She likes HORSES, WRITING, and DRAWING."
Did you analyze her use of commas as well?
not to be rude mary lou but i'm pretty postive that numerous people here and DWT have confirmed that paul and gina are NOT the same person.
so lets move on
So, as a member of the cf penpal club on Yahoo - I also found several posts. They are all from the same sn JedisdreamAPHA.
I just want to post this to point out some now obvious errors.
#1 About Port Care:
"You can go a long time without using them, they're perminent and there for the long haul (I've had a few get infected, once because I had sepsis and a few times because I went to a non CF hospital when I was out of town and they weren't as diligent about port care)."
Errors I see:
It's rare to have several ports get infected. Possible, but rare.
You have to flush a port monthly if you are not using it.
Another mention of sepsis - which is infection of the blood, and usually deadly - especially if you have the CF germs in your blood.
Thanks,
Carla
This is my third post - but I didn't know who else to share this with - besides my own blog readers, but I did know S.S. Back then I had a live journal too, and we wrote back and forth. I was crushed when she died.
I now also have that very sick to my stomach feeling.
All,
People who knew "SS" are crushed about this latest development, and we feel it's warranted to pull down her picture, and not cause anymore pain to those who lost her.
Our goal was to identify her, and we have done that. As for her friend on the right, we will email the picture to friends of Gina's and ask if she is Gina. We will also wait for a response from someone who knew SS and can verify that the young woman in the picture IS from Florida and still resides there.
We are doing this out of respect for SS's family and friends. Hopefully everyone can understand that.
If anyone hears back from SS's mom, then this should clear up whether Gina and Krystal are the same person. She would be able to figure it out very quickly I'd think.She doesn't need this kind of stress I'm sure, but did need to know what had been done by "Gina" whoever she is.
Mary Lou, maybe MEOW MEOW is Gina. Was S.S. sometimes referred to as Kitty? I read a bit of the journal.
I picked "Meow, Meow" because this account is linked to my cats rescue email address.
Yes, S. S. called herself "Kitty".
There you go.
On the journal entry that I posted, there are good pics of Krystal...she is not Gina. Also, check out S.S's journal entry on Nov 18th 2006, she says she stayed with Puddin aka Krystal. So..again, there you have it.
To me, Krystal looks like Gina. Even the pick in livejournal does to me. You could look at many pictures of the same person and because of lighting, the angle, and the date photos were taken, they could look somewhat different. However, if I am wrong I want to apologize to Krystal and S.S.'s family if they read this. I would not want to hurt them further by implicating her best friend if this is not true.
Meow - Just curious - How long has this account been linked to your cats rescue email address?
MaryLou,
This account is a few hours old. Instead of creating a brand new email account, I just simply linked it to my cats rescue email account.
Hope this satisfies your curiosity and if you're ever interested in adopting one of my foster kittens, let me know.
Let's get back to topic now, shall we? :-)
Lee
Meow, that makes sense. I'm sorry. It was just that it seemed like a coincidence that you used "Meow" when they called S.S. "Kitty. I guess this whole thing is making people (me) too suspicious of others. That's the damage Gina has caused to the CF community and hopefully it will pass in time.
MaryLou,
I totally understand. I got sucked into this story today from a link in another friend's (a CF'er) journal and to my surprise, I immediately recognized S.S. in the picture and was horrified. I just HAD TO register so I could comment in here. Since I don't suffer from this horrible disease, I can only imagine the damage & heartache this has done to all of you, emotioanlly & financially and I hope you all find peace in this. I wish you and everyone well. My heart goes out to all of you including S.S.'s family & friends.
Hugs,
Lee
Mary Lou and Lee,
You are right, this is exactly what Gina spread, and I am so glad that we are all putting a stop to it. She is truly certifiable and just look at what all happened yesterday because of her. I applaud you for coming to a mutual understanding like that!
=)
Gina went to Maple Grove High School in Maple Grove, MN. She graduated in '01.
Interests: Horses, Sleeping, Animation/cartoons.
Classmates.com
No picture.
I've seriously got to get a life. : )
IP addresses can be faked. I'm a forum admin (not CF-related) and I can tell you it's real easy to fake an IP (to get around an IP ban). Just because Pepe/Gina's IP was traced to MN doesn't mean she's in MN.
Then again, this Pepe/Gina person who managed to fool everyone for years gave out her HOME address. And she used her REAL (first) name? So smart yet so dumb... I don't get it.
"Most of us can only hope for one friend like that, and I've got several, all met right here."
You gotta admit... she's a good writer.
cf.com
07/16/2008 01:22 PM
pepe
Posts: 41
Joined: 08/17/2006
I want to thank everyone who has posted to me and helped me through this rough yet exciting time in my life. I'll never forget you all.
(snip)
I have not made friends with more giving, more loyal, more intelligent and passionate than those I've met here, and most of them have been taken away, and that's not fair. These are the people who have stayed up with me until 4 in the morning when I didn't feel well, cheered me up when I needed to... dreaming with me about a-long-time-from-now cruise in the Carribean while I sit in a hospital bed. These people have been my army and strength... and to say that the site is better off with them gone? That's a huge mistake. Most of us can only hope for one friend like that, and I've got several, all met right here.
(snip)
I find it intereseting that when things "slowed down" on the last downwithtrolls post more info. came up (the picture). Now there are more people, or possibly the same with different profiles on this blog posting. This really is looking more and more like a personal attack. Like you want to destroy Gina - I said it before and I will repeat it here:
"IF she has any responsibility for any of this or had knowledge of this and let it happen - she needs help and I believe she will seek that help. Mission accomplished - now let's let it go."
Hsfarm1, Gina has admitted she was guilty to real-life friends, and has sent emails to friends regarding her guilt.
We have not posted every single detail of her friends' accounts because that would be attacking her.
We feel it was warranted to find out who the young woman in the picture was. Were it your child, wouldn't you want to know how she had been used?
And the traffic was the same overnight as it was last night. The comments slowed down because we turned off anonymous commenting.
It's only 7am on the east coast. Still very dark here at DWT. Check again around noon and see what you think.
Could you enlighten us as to how much involvement Gina has admitted to having had in this as well as how much Paul has admitted to having? Or is this to reamin confidentail so we can keep tearing people's lives apart.
This blog, which was created in the aftermath of the Pepe/Gina mess, seems to be the ideal way to "channel" our reactions just in the way the anonymous writer(s) wish(es), which appears to be a smokescreen to protect Paul. It strikes just the right balance among evidence of fraud, insinuations of guilt, encouragements to contact authorities, and doubt that any truth is present whatsoever... If we're looking for the truth here, why ask us to search only for evidence of Paul's guilt and that he and Gina knew each other? The blog has just one foot over the line separating research of guilt/innocence from a public lynching of Paul. There is just enough "evidence" given to make us uncomfortable with the whole tone of the site....and therefore do nothing.
I just learned of this fraud of Gina's last night.. I knew Gina through AOL Dog chat. I talked to her many nights in the chat room, when she was feeling soooo sick. Soooo frail. It never occured to me it was a lie at first. I still had a few red flags go up, like cell phone useage in the ICU (I've been to ICUs and they almost all have signs saying "Turn all Cell Phones off before entering"... my daughter was in the NICU last month- it had the same sign.)... and being ventilated yet still making it to chat that evening. I understood that illness affects everyone differently but she seemed "Superhuman".
I haven't spoken to her since this all went down. I know last night a friend of mine was speaking to her and described it as "odd". It seems that she has no remorse and just makes excuses for her actions. ("I have Asperger's", "I did it so Paul would love me"... etc.)
So instead of perpetuating some new disease and trying to fool a whole new community to make friends, Gina needs to realize that maybe the reason she doesn't have friends in her everyday life away from the internet is that people generally do not want to surround themselves with liars.
She would do well getting some help and overcoming the habitual lying- a symptom not consistent with Asperger's.
Gibsontwins-Just go to tinyurl.com and enter the web address, it will make one for you.
tinyurl dot com
thanks- didn't even figure it was that easy!
I thought i would just mention my son who has aspergers does lie and is always making up fantasies. He dosent connect with other children and so is quite lonely and so makes up all sorts of stories, so even though its not a normal trait of aspergers some sufferers do lie.
Though saying that, i think she is more than likely not a sufferer just using as one of her many stories for sympathy, attention and as an excuse.
Im not part of the US CF community coming from the UK (my brother has CF and had a transplant a year ago), but read some of the US blogs. I really am saddened by the effect this has had on everyone, noone seems to be sure of anyone now and and turning on each other instead of trying to move on and keep supporting each other, as that suppport is something we all desperately need through the roller coaster of emotions of having CF or being close to a sufferer.
We all need answers to what has happened as it will bring closure but dont let her win by losing our abilty to trust and support each other.
Gibson Twins,
I, too, looked up the yellow pages link, but of course, those are only business listings, not residential listings. If you look up residential listings, there is a G. Fiorentino listed as living in the Minneapolis area, likely a suburb, although not as far north as Maple Grove, Osseo, or St. Michael. Now, if she does still live with her parents, then she would probably not be listed in the phone book, and if she uses a cell phone, I don't believe she'd be listed either.
tujimbWhen you people claim to "know" someone, you need to specify whether it's IN PERSON or via emaail/internet/phone. There is a HUGE difference.
Does anyone know kitty (S.S.) in person. If so who knows YOU in person, and who knows them in person...etc etc.
Thanks to all this crap, I'm beginning to doubt whether or not I'M real.
Thanks Bitch
My link should have been to message 3798, sorry. Not sure why it didn't come thru:
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/thoroughbred/message/3798
Friday May 17, 2002
Hi All,
Well I found out that Gina (another TB member) wanted to get revenge from Blake for not giving her horse back (they had traded a few months ago), so she posed as her father and told me Blake died. Blake by the way loves this horse so much. She talks about Lacey all the time and loves her to death. That is the sickest thing that anyone could ever do. I was crying for hours until Blake called me and told me that she found out what Gina had done. I don't understand why someone would want to hurt me like this. One top of it all Blake really is very sick and barely made it through last night. She doesn't need stress like this when she is so sick. I can't imagine almost loosing a friend and being so vindictive about wanting a horse that you would hurt other people. I am not even friends with Gina so I don't know why she had to draw me into this. I am so furious right now for what she did to me and to Blake. She even suggested that I tell anyone that was friends with Blake and that is why I let you guys know. I don't think I will ever understand why someone would do something like this to another person. It would never even cross my mind in a million years to do this to someone. I am grateful tough to have the chance to get out to see Blake this summer. I am very sorry for any sadness that my first email may have caused you. Blake and I both feel really bad about this. I never get violent but I really feel like strangling Gina with my bare hands and if I ever see her in person she had better run fast. (Keep that in mind Gina when I come to visit. No one messes with me or my friends like that and gets away with it. So I hope you are scared Gina).
Trisha
PS Blake is still very sick so please keep her in your prayers. They are much appreciated
grr...instead of an 'r' at the end of the link, it should be '3798'
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/thoroughbred/message/5424
Not sure if this is a repeat...but she is also "honey_little"...her email was "4ntino@..." (Fiorentino)
That should not end with an "r"...it should end with "message/5424"
Um, Gina had lied and defrauded people out of money and she works in a BANK? Might someone want to notify her employer? Not to make accusations, mind you, but to alert them of this website. I would think they'd want to do their own investigation.
And I REALLY find THIS post by Gina ironic...
"Gina" <4ntino@...>
Honey_Little
Offline
Send Email
Re: [thoroughbred] Valerie
Well Valerie, Susan, whoever you are...
We, on the TB list like to keep it real... nobody is impressed with you and your lies
Pick up a dictionary, grammatical is right in there.
I don't CARE where you are from, common courtesy is practiced all over the world, and I'm tired of you putting down us Americans.. if not for somebody in the US, Yahoo! would not exsist to hold this list, so be thankful, be courteous, and please stop harassing the list. Please stop lying. You are NOT hard to see through
We may have to start thinking about schizophrenia instead of Munchausen's--this is very much a mentally ill person--that last post from Annie shows that she had the Blake personality in 2002??? So that would have been at about the age of 19 or so, if she graduated from high school in 2001. . . I bet her HS teachers could tell a few tales. I think for it to go on that long, and who knows how long before that, indicates something much worse than we were thinking (well, at least me, anyway). I doubt if she really knows the difference any more--she probably literally has a multiple personality disorder.
All these years of causing this kind of agony to people, deliberately--wow.
As time goes on, I bet all the cyberdetectives at DWT find more and more such disturbing things! Incredible work by everyone!
Annie,
I completely agree with you about her employer. Thanks to other people's detective work, we know the name and town of the bank, and the address and phone number were easily found online. It can't hurt for them to know--if she IS innocent (HA!) or if she does nothing wrong at the bank, then she has nothing to worry about. If she knows that her boss knows she will be much less likely to try to swindle someone. It doesn't necessarily mean she will get fired--just a layer of protection for the bank official and customers.
It just seems like EVERYONE she deals with should know so they can protect themselves.
She works at a bank?????? Geez! Yeah, if I was her employer...I MIGHT want to know.
I am so mad about this. On one hand, the logical side of me keeps thinking...people get email scams every day...but this woman/whatever LIED FOR YEARS and played on our emotions for YEARS!! Who knows what other diseases she's out there faking.
"Well I found out that Gina (another TB member) wanted to get revenge from Blake...so she posed as her father and told me Blake died."
This is particularly funny (interesting, odd, sad, pathetic?) because Gina/Blake told everyone in our community that Blake's parents were both dead. She was oh, so alone on that big ol' ranch of hers, dying of our disease, saddened by a past abortion and suicidal.
**** It occurred to me that it is no longer safe for us to post photographs of ourselves (relating to treatment or disease) on the Internet. I have purged my blog of these images and will make sure to keep this in mind in the future. Don't be a victim! ****
We have now had emails assuring us that K and Gina are indeed two different people, and that is definitely not Gina in the picture. Since it has been confirmed, we have deleted comments that had information about how to find K or SS's blog online.
Please leave them in peace.
"Gina was raised in Maple Grove, MN and moved to St Michael around 2002. She has never lived in Florida."
"I have known Gina for years. THAT is NOT Gina."
Thanks.
I agree, Droll. I have a blog and I'm on several CF forums (obviously under a different name)...but I will not post anything on here related to them and I'm thinking of closing other blogs down in fear of others like Gina. She ruined it for the rest of us. I hate to think of how many "Gina's" are out there.
Is there not a way to get a picture of the real Gina from her high school year book?
Should Paul be concerned about Gina knowing too much information about him?
Yes, I was posting anonymously because my blogger account had my picture. When (thankfully) anonymouse commenting was disabled I decided I wanted to post my name so I took the picture off.
Out of illness and boredom I have discovered that a Gina Fiorentino has worked at count 'em, FOUR separate banks in the Saint Michael's area in the last couple of years.
From another blog of a person who has CF (don't think I want to give the URL because she was really stung by Gina):
August 16 2008 at 8:08 am
I am very very sad to say that Pepe/Gina/Blake has turned out to be a fake. Those three names ARE the same person. Not that we can believe a word that is said anymore, my BF chatted online with the “real” Gina last night after the fiasco really hit the fan, the one he as been chatting with for many months, possibly a year. He sent me the transcript of their conversation as it went on. This person my BF has been chatting with/ talking to on a cell phone/ playing Scrabble with online for hours at a time/ sent gift cards to for food/ sent get well gifts too, admitted to being Pepe/Gina/Blake/Chippedaway/SaraM among several others. Gina as we knew her, a super-hero Cystic needing/having a transplant, was a complete scam. Gina, we are 99% sure that is her real name after our sleuthing last night, claims she is an empty soul, who fell in love with Paul/Q/Clamshellmuni, a fellow Cystic, and faked sick to get his attention, it grew and grew from there. The photos on the FOP website was not Gina, we assume they are of an old friend of hers. The photos I found after searching her address was Gina. She claims she is going to seek help, but I can’t believe that since this has gone on for years. Gina admits she posed as Blake, who would update Paul via cell phone or computer about “Pepe”’s supposed status. “Blake” has been around the CF community for years, which may be where she has picked up her extensive knowledge of CF and transplants. She claims she does actually have Cystic Fibrosis, but is in no where near a dire physical state as she lead us to believe. At least that is her story now. I am having a hard time believing any of this is true, except that I do know I have been sending my well wishes, my concerns, spending time worrying about this fake person. Heck, I even stuck my neck out and stood up for her. Thank you my dear friends who have helped to set me straight. It is obvious Gina has no idea how many people she has affected, nor to the extent. She seems mainly concerned that she will no longer be able to have that dream relationship with Paul now that she has been found out.
It is time for us to stop with the finger pointing and hostile attitude towards each other.
What has been done is horrid. However, we should not allow this disturbing turn of events crumble what has always been a strong and much needed community.
Right now we are allowing our emotions and fears take over. This makes a lot of sense but many of us have allowed it to get out of hand.
I know this is an absurd analogy but for some reason it keeps poping into my head:
You have probably seen of even played The Sims. If not just go to YouTube and you will find thousands of videos.
I keep thinking of The sims and how they react to a kitchen fire.
So... Here's your sim happily cooking breakfast. Suddenly breakfast catches fire. Your sim just doesn't know what to do. They stand in shock as the fire spreads. Now your sim completely freaks! They start screaming and yelling. They jump around and shake their fists. They are terrified. Just as soon as it starts a fireman arrives(Always put a smoke alarm above the stove) and puts the fire out.
Your sim stares at the stove. They feel a little faint, scared and angry. For hours and days they think and dream about that fire. But soon they move on. And the next time a fire breaks out they take it a little better.
Right now we are in the "wig out" stage. It can be a litle funny but it is mostly dangerous ( go on you tube and search fire kitchen).
It's time to move onto the next stage. The stage where we still think about it... But we take care of it...and then we can move on again to our wonderful community as it was before.
Just as your sim can die from overreacting to that kitchen fire *we* can kill the friendships and knowledge we have gained if we allow this one(two) person to take over our feelings.
Don't allow Gina any more power. It's time for us to take control( and yes we should still find out the truth) and heal the rifts caused.
Laura
This entire situation is unbelievable! Not having any medical knowledge at all, I was one very taken in by the entire Pepe blog and diligently prayed and wept for this poor girl who never really existed. But, as I've read so much of the hoopla and posts over the weekend, things seem to be getting even more mysterious.
I am an English professor and have extensive training in writing style analysis. In fact, one of my jobs at the university where I work is to closely examine papers which are under suspicion of plagiarism and compare the various writing styles. I authenticate thesis and doctoral papers and decide if they were truly written by those who are taking credit for them. I would bet my various degrees and certificates, my job, and my pension that the keeper of this blog, Paul, and Gina/Pepe are one and the same. Paul's writings, Gina's letter, and many of the posts written by Down With The Trolls all practically scream of being the same person.
We may never know the whole truth, and exactly who was involved, why, and to what extent. But as a word of caution to those heavily supporting Paul and DWTT as innocent in this, be very careful with trusting they are who/what they claim. There is most definitely a common thread tying each of these "three" people together.
downwiththetrolls,
*Please* don't misunderstand. I fully FULLY respect the hurt feelings, pain and tears this has caused and the time it takes to recover. As I said though, my concern is for the finger pointing and hostility towards others in this community.
I meant that *that* should stop. Because we have already seen how these comments and accusations can cause an uproar and leave behind hurt feelings anger and suspicions that weren't there before.
Laura
Whoa! I had to comment after reading the post from Melissa. DWT - I bet you do have a Wii. If you were sincere in just wanting to help and not cause mischief, you wouldn't have made that comment! You just want people to wonder. You want to increase the drama. You do every time comments slow down. See post about MUNCHAUSEN BY INTERNET above. DWT -how's it going? How's your health?
"I would bet my various degrees and certificates, my job, and my pension that the keeper of this blog, Paul, and Gina/Pepe are one and the same. Paul's writings, Gina's letter, and many of the posts written by Down With The Trolls all practically scream of being the same person."
LOL. Thank you. This actually made us laugh.
Melissa, that is an awful big wager to make, and since we're NOT Gina/Paul, we would suggest not bragging about your deductive reasoning skills around the university, or those who have been accused of plagiarism by you might come back to debunk your hard work.
Please keep in mind that English degrees are among the most common at universities, so the fact that we, and Paul, are well-written might *JUST* be a coincidence of statistics.
We leave you with this, English professor:
"I know each language on the map," said he. "And she's Hungarian as the first Hungarian Rhapsody!"
Lucy -- terrible, terrible coincidence. Our apologies. We didn't make the connection until you pointed that out just now. It was a badly-timed joke.
Melissa,
I am also an English professor (at a university in NC--where are you?) and one of the reasons the FOP blog was so fascinating to me was because of the writing. I always thought Paul was a phenomenal writer, able to convey so much pathos--and the supposed situation certainly kept us coming back for more--me, 5 or 6 times a day!
I have been wondering what the impact would be if Paul=DWT. Not sure if there would be any difference--because I do believe that Paul was completely duped by the mentally ill Gina. He has lots of reasons for wanting to get to the bottom of things, and that is what we all want, too. If Paul were writing this blog and called himself Paul, he would have had to endure lots of doubt and on Saturday lots of really stupid and ugly speculation, but he would still have accomplished all this amazing collaborative detective work, with the final outcome of finding out all this information about HER. And that would be a positive thing.
What do others think? If DWT turns out to be Paul, would it matter?
A good point, Laura.
This blog has taken on a valuable entity we didn't plan on. It's the place people have come to be angry, and that is great to us. It detracts the anger and speculation from the other blogs and forums, for the most part.
For those who knew Pepe for years, they are still going through the stages of grief - they lost a person. One could argue that thankfully it wasn't from CF.
So while you are very correct that this should not form rifts in the communities or friendships, people should also be aware that the mourning/shock stage will take much longer for some people, and that should be respected.
Were we to reveal ourselves to Nathan, and have him confirm we are not Paul, would that help?
Assuming Nathan would be up for assisting us, of course.
I definitely see why Melissa thinks that--but I just feel that DWT is not Paul (not that my instincts have proven very good!). But I still wonder if it would matter if he were.....
DWT....I would be completely up for you reveiling yourselves to Nathan but how is he definitely going to confirm that you are who your are? I mean come on....we can't even decifer who Gina really is!!
I have just kinda stumbled into all this from Nate's blog and I just want to put in my 2 cents that while I do believe it would put to rest a lot of doubts if Nathan were to verify your identity/identities... I would like to suggest that he just be left out of this. He has much bigger things on his plate and doesn't need the drama. I know he cares but I think this is a time someone could cut him some slack and not put him in that position.
Charlotte, I was just going to say that!
Nate has already stated that this topic is closed on his blog and not to mention it.
He also has said he's having difficulty juggling his many responsibilities and Tricia is very ill right now from chemo AND tx recovery AND CF.
PLEASE do not bother these people, DWT.
I don't know why everyone is playing detective. If you've handed this over to the FBI, let them use their detective skills to discover the truth. Sometimes I think this website might just be flaming a fire and stirring people up more.
From what I read on Nathan's blog, he needs to be left out of this. He was duped just like everyone. Also, he has lots on his plate in his personal life. Sure I trust him explicitly, but he has enuff going on. I have missed the pictures of Gina and not found any on line. Please advise where I can see a pic of her. Wanna make sure if I ever see her I know it. Also, my daughter has been involved in several online groups that have had trolls. Most of them run when confronted. Our family has blogs, but only with invited readers. You can go anywhere on line and get pics...trolls do that!
shari
We agree, and we won't bother him. It was just a suggestion.
This entire Pepe situation has made it nearly impossible for us to even "come out." Were we to post a picture, people wouldn't believe it anyhow. Were we to talk to someone else, they would be accused of being in cahoots.
Hopefully you can understand that predicament.
I dated S.S.. Her nickname was Kitty.
She is in fact passed away. In that pic is her friend. Her camera was missing but it was found again.
I can get all the info we need on Kitty and such, from her sister and mother...
I will keep an eye on this. And I thank all of you so much.
I loved her so much and to wake up to this ... I can't even pt this into words.. It's sick.
Thanks... I think you guys can figure out whom I am from Kitty's livejournal.
cfkitty.livejournal.com
I was Kina..
Thank you.
I do understand, and it sad our world has come to this. The internet is good in many ways and bad in others. Hopefully someday you can "come out". Also, if this woman is employed by a ban, they need to know. Just think of what she has access to there. Hey, contact Greta at Fox News, she will take this one and run--Gina needs that!
Shari
this is ridiculous.
it is pretty obvious to me that down with trolls, gina, pepe, and paul are one and the same. psychology, grammar and writing style all point to it no matter how hard he/she tries to make it not so.
be careful everybody do not be fooled again! this blog is just created from that said persons boredom and mischievousness, in my opinion.
i never got too sucked into the friends of pepe blog although i had seen it a couple of times. the aftermath is fascinating though because some of the same people are being duped twice!!
(beside from the people who are now overly suspicious)
btw, down with trolls you are very prideful to your own detriment to say that the only similarities between you is that that you are well written. you are not as smart as you think you are.
the creator of this blog (the same deceitful person all along) created this to trick everyone into thinking authorities have been contacted. i doubt anyone has truly contacted the FBI. i will not because i did not pay any money to any person. someone who did should please do something even if you feel like a fool. you have been swindled, and that is not alright. do not count on someone else to do it foe you especially not the d.w.t. blog.
also it is funny how the d.w.t. troll always responds... either by laughing it off or by being on the defense. this attention seeker is lapping it up and loving every second.
WONDER HOW LONG MY POST WILL ACTUALLY STAY UP HERE PAUL.
I HAVE HARD PROOF THAT PAUL KNEW ABOUT THE WHOLE SCAM. EMAIL ME FOR THE INFO AND I WILL WAIT 24 HOURS TO START ANSWERING EVERYONE. I JUST DON'T KNOW IF I COULD POST IT HERE AND IT WOULDN'T GO POOF!!
I CAN SAY (I THINK, I HAVE SAVED THE ONES I COULD ACCESS) IF YOU LEFT COMMENTS ON FOP GOOGLE YOUR EMAIL ADDY AND YOU CAN READ THE PAGES OF FOP. THE PAGES THEMSELVES ARE WHAT I WILL POINT YOU TO THAT WILL PROVE PAUL IS NOT INNOCENT. I CANNOT CHANGE THEM. THEY ARE WHAT THEY ARE.
KANDI ANN
(born Deborah Ann)
THE ASPIE WHO WAS FOOLED. NEVER AGAIN. I SWEAR THE MOMENT I SAID I AM AN ASPIE SHE TOOK THAT ILLNESS ON TOO.
SS was my best friend and she died about a year ago and i think it is absolutely sick that someone would use her likeness, especially in such a horrible manner. It's really messed up and that person needs serious help. And yes, the other girl in the picture is her close friend K. i knew both of them
I AM TOO TIRED TO LOOK FOR MORE PAGES. MY SERVICE DOG GOES IN FOR SURGERY IN THE MORNING. I WILL CHECK BACK TOMORROW.
KANDI ANN
THOSE OF YOU ASKING ABOUT THE PEPSI PERSONS NAME. HERE YA GO..
The enclosed letter from Senior Consumer Relations Czarina Robin Harris reads as follows:
"I read with great interest the email sent and knew for sure that you, (Pepe), are almost certainly our #1 Sierra Mist fan! It means so much learning that after being in a coma, as your taste buds awoke, it was Sierra Mist that was your first request. We are honored and inspired to keep working hard producing the highest quality beverage for those who want it most, devoted consumers like you.
COPIED AND PASTED EXACTLY FROM SITE.
can someone tell me how you find those cached pages, such as the ones from FOP that have been taken down? How do you still find them?
=)
thanks
Finding cached stuff. go to google.com and enter key words in, like pepe or fop or update or/and all of them. go to the bottom of the listing and click cache and you got it. SAVE IT. I will reveal Pauls big mistake once enough people have the page on their own.
Thanks Debi!
=)
Debi- the mistake is that he (Paul) owned Friends of Pepe. He posted there and on his own blog as Clamshellmuni. Thats an easy one but very very stupid on his part.
Wow...Pepe/Gina sure knew A LOT of medical/CF wording. WHO KNOWS ALL OF THAT???? Even someone close to someone with CF would have a hard time remembering all of those details.
Sorry..this is the wording/details I am referring to (from FOP):
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Update: Several Setbacks
Pepe allowed FOP to post a brief note about her status. The news is not good at this time. Last week, doctors inserted a chest tube, expecting another pneumothorax, but instead withdrew a vast amount of fluid from Pepe's pleural space. The effusion did subside, and the tube was scheduled to come out last Saturday, but late Friday night and through the weekend Pepe experienced severe episodes in which buckets of fluid issued from inside her lungs. Pulmonary edema can be caused by many things. After an emergency X-ray, a CT, and a heavily-growing culture, doctors determined Pepe's edema was caused by massive infection in her lungs. In addition to her Vanco and Colistin, they put her on Ceftazadime and Zosyn, which, since it is a combination of Piperacillin and Tazobactam, gives her five good IV antibiotics to beat back the infection.
So far, Pepe is still waiting for the drugs to kick in. Her fever remains high and her gases imbalanced. She is having difficulty breathing. Wednesday, she suffered several large hemoptyses, requiring two bronchial artery embolizations and two units of blood. In OR, the bleeding was stopped, but Pepe is understandably scared that it will recur. This was her third multiple embolization in four months. She is off the vest and receiving suction at least three times a day to keep her lungs clear. She has visits from family and friends, but she is exhausted from this long fight for new lungs and needs your thoughts more than ever.
CureCFNow-
it was Paul writing the FOP updates. he's an english professor (or atleast was) in illinois.
he's in on this. no doubt in my mind at all. but it will come out, completely confident in that. he was just more thorough in thinking ahead to cover up his tracks. gina was pretty stupid about that part of it.
since he had a transplant, he knows what the timeline is and all the med terms. however, gina supposedly relayed the info to him.
whatever the case may be, its sickening.
For those who read the blog of the young woman who died, there are some extremely eerie coincidences there as well....
Gibson Twins,
That's my point exactly...IF Gina and Paul are seperate people, I would find it very suspicious she would know so many details...then again, if she truly does suffer from Munchhousen, then I guess she would be doing her homework..."she" must've been pretty busy, what with working at a bank, riding horses, having so many diseases (and learning each detail about them!) and talking for thousands of hours on the phone each month with Paul.
So, was it "Blake" who was supposedly feeding Paul all of these up-to-the-minute updates of Gina's "progress"? Was it text? IM? I would find it hard to believe it was by phone...since they would obviously have the same voice?
I read on an earlier comment, I think it was a copy of something that Gina wrote, that she did indeed have a "Blake" voice and a "Gina" voice while talking with Paul and so "Blace" would update Paul--and also that "Blake" would email and chat with Paul giving him updates, him ill in Illinois and "Gina" ill in MN.
soooooooooooo weird
Wow, Karen...I don't even know what to say to that. I guess I shouldn't be shocked. I don't even know what to believe anymore...
I know!! It's just that I have seen SO many other blogs and so many other accounts of what happened, and so many people vouch for Paul, that I believe he is NOT Gina, not DWT, and was also taken in by Gina too, worst of all. On the other hand, NO ONE speaks up for Gina. All anyone can say about her is that she has done this sort of thing before, going back to at least 2001.
Just my opinion, though!
the photos aren't loading in this post for me. Can someone post a link for them at a photobucket or flickr site?
Debi/Kandi Ann,
It has been about 24 hours and we are interested in the evidence you have that no one else has.
DWT
Well, S.S. is my best friend, and it's very hard not to get emotional when something like this happens...
I'm definitely not happy about this predicament, but...I didn't know they were using other pics too.
Tell me it's not being used for profit...
No one has reported Gina making any money off of S.S.'s photo. However, $600 was collected to buy the fake "Pepe" a Wii for Christmas. The extra money was supposedly donated to CFRI. Paul Mooney (clamshellmuni) posted tonight under the "Pepsi" section, "Some might have given $25, which is easily returned." I don't see a definite plan for when he plans to return it. It should be easy if everything was collected through PayPal, as those transactions remain in your account history for years.
Back on cystic-l, I seen a post about Gina, and it made me sick to my stomach. I thought Gina was for real, I mean how can anyonne want to fake being a CFer. I defended Gina's name about 2 weeks ago, and now that I see that she is using another friends pics makes me sick. S.S's friends or mom if you read this and want to report this to the police please email me. I have Gina's address, she recently gave me. I cant believe I was talking to a fake for 7 years. Makes me wonder who I am taliing to. I will try to get a hold of some of her friends. If anyone needs anything please let me know. Gina, you are a sick freak
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