TOOELE COUNTY — When Bryan De Laney saw a post on Facebook asking for donations for two children who lost their father in the Las Vegas massacre, the Tooele County resident – who also moonlights as Santa – could not resist the urge to help.
“I’ve experienced some loss this year, and over the years we’ve experienced some pretty severe loss, so I thought we needed to help the kids and wife out,” De Laney told Fox13Now.
The post on the Tooele County 411 page came from a woman named “Whitney.” It said she was trying to make Christmas happen for the boys who recently moved to Tooele after losing their father in the Las Vegas massacre on Oct. 1.
Read more: Shooting on Las Vegas Strip kills 50-plus, wounds more than 400
De Laney responded to Whitney’s post and after conversing with her, bought nearly $400 worth of clothing and toys she said the boys needed.
“I bought two tricycles, two action figures from the Kong movie, two little dump trucks full of Legos, 2 outfits each with a pair of shoes, a little art easel and some Hot Wheels cars,” De Laney said.
De Laney, who works as a Santa Claus at holiday gatherings, delivered the items to Whitney on Christmas Eve.
“I was actually Santa Claus on Christmas Eve and they scammed me,” De Laney said. “They took the stuff thinking it was going to go to two little kids who needed it.”
He realized he had fallen victim to a scam on Christmas Day when he tried to contact Whitney on Facebook and discovered she blocked him from contacting her.
Read the full story here: Fox13Now.com.
Written by JOHN FRANCHI, Fox13Now.com
Copyright 2017, KSTU. A Tribune broadcasting station
Really amazes me how greedy and flat out rude people can be. This guy went above and beyond for someone he didn’t know and she pulls that on him. Well “Whitney” enjoy meeting Karma.
I hope this isn’t true, but if it is, hope charges get filed against her. If that’s even her real name.
“whitney” you win A hole of the year! Eventually you’ll get what’s coming to you. You probably already have a record AND a mug shot.