An Alabama woman secretly pocketed $1 million in donations she raised for a homeless charity that didn’t actually exist.
Amy Dianne Elmore Downs, 57, of Athens, was arrested after a three-year investigation revealed that she had solicited a significant amount of money from people around the world for a fabricated charity that targeted victims of domestic violence and homelessness to help.
“Since 2021, Downs has deposited nearly $1 million into her personal bank accounts under the guise of charitable donations,” the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Wednesday.
Downs, better known by her now-deleted TikTok account, Slot_7.0 or Slotmachinequeen, used her social media popularity as a way to encourage her followers to send money through her own personal finance apps.
Over the course of three years, the “benefactor” received contributions through her PayPal, CashApp, and Venmo accounts under the pretense that the money would go to charity.
She was even nominated this past year for an award that spotlights influencers who use their platform for good.
“My name is Amy, and my username is slot 7.0,” she said during a red carpet interview with KNEKT.tv, WAFF News reported.
“I do DV assistance for immediate danger, DV victims and the homeless,” she added.
Amy Dianne Elmore Downs, 57, of Athens, Alabama, secretly pocketed $1 million in donations she raised for a homeless charity that didn’t really exist
Downs, who is also a TikTok personality, used her social media popularity as a way to encourage her followers to send money through her own personal finance apps
She was even nominated for an award this past year that spotlighted influencers who use their platform for good, speaking about her “charity” during an interview
But beneath her “Good Samaritan” facade was only a years-long scam.
The investigation found that Downs had not reported any employment since 2020, despite large sums of money being deposited into her accounts.
Additionally, investigators found no legitimate charitable organization registered under her name or with the Alabama Attorney General’s office.
Cherrelle Lock, the director of DV outreach at Crisis Services of North Alabama, was shocked when she heard the news, noting that her crisis center would never ask for donations directly through a personal app.
“It’s disheartening,” Lock told WAFF. “It’s incredible to know something like this is happening in our community. Because there are individuals in our community who could really benefit from that.”
“For the individuals in our community who support us, we’re making sure we know where that funding is going,” she added.
Downs was ultimately arrested and booked into the Limestone County Jail on seven counts of first-degree charity fraud and three counts of tax evasion.
She was granted a $1,125,000 bond, but has since been out of the union since Tuesday evening.
The sheriff’s office has urged anyone with information about Downs’ fraudulent activities to come forward as the investigation is ongoing.