Jodie St. Pierre, 33, 31-4 Everson Ave., Rochester, New Hampshire, was summonsed for theft by deception on Monday following an investigation that began on Dec. 27.
Mary Shaw, owner of Me and D’s Diner on 1517 Post Road, said she was contacted on Facebook by someone named Sara Lacross, who was asking for help collecting donations for a family of four who had been homeless last year. Lacross told her the mother and one of the two small children had cancer.
“I kind of fell right into it,” said Shaw.
Left: Gifts were collected at the Me and D’s Diner in December to be given to a homeless family. It was later learned the family wasn’t real. Above: Jodie St. Pierre, 33, of Rochester, New Hampshire, has been charged with theft by deception in relation to a charity scam.
But when she drove to New Hampshire to give the items to Lacross, she was told by a neighbor as she was leaving that Lacross was actually a woman named Jodie who uses a false name to scam people.
“It’s sickening,” said Shaw. “It actually made me physically ill.”
Wells Police Chief Jo-Ann Putnam said St. Pierre conned several hundred dollars out of “someone who was trying to do something nice for a family in need during the holiday season.”
St. Pierre is scheduled to appear in York District Court on March 22.
Putnam cautioned people to practice due diligence before hosting or contributing to unfamiliar charity drives, such as contacting a local school, church of the police department to verify information.
“Just be cautious about what you do and say on social media,” said Putnam.
Shaw said next Christmas, she’ll probably do what she’s done in years past: Donate items to active military personnel stationed overseas.
— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.
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