TikToker accepting donations for fake charity scammed followers out of $1M, cops say

A TikTok personality solicited nearly $1 million in donations for a charity she ran supporting individuals experiencing homelessness and domestic violence, Alabama authorities said.

But investigators say the charity didn’t exist.

Amy Downs, 57, now faces seven charges of charitable fraud and three charges of tax evasion, the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office said in a Dec. 11 news release.

Downs was better known by her since-deleted TikTok account Slot_7.0 or Slotmachinequeen, which she used to advertise her fake charity, deputies said.

Followers from across the U.S. and other countries sent money to her Venmo, PayPal and CashApp accounts to support the causes for about three years, according to deputies.

But investigators said they later found the Athens woman had been unemployed since 2020 and had no charity under her name or registered with the attorney general’s office.

“Since 2021, Downs has deposited nearly one million dollars into her personal bank accounts under the guise of charitable donations,” deputies said in the release.

Within hours of the arrest announcement, TikTok users began reacting, with @Bayoubrandi saying in one video, “Now let’s all say this together, stop sending cash to people on the internet.”

Downs was booked in jail on a $1.125 million bond, with additional charges possibly forthcoming, according to the sheriff’s office.

Investigators are asking anyone with information about Downs to come forward.

Limestone County is on the Alabama-Tennessee state border and is part of the Huntsville metropolitan area.

This story was originally published December 12, 2024 at 9:36 AM with the headline "TikToker accepting donations for fake charity scammed followers out of $1M, cops say."