Pizza shop scammed in fundraiser for injured student. Then Florida community rallies
A local pizza shop was scammed while raising money for a high school student severely injured in a car accident, Florida authorities said.
WiseGuys Pizzeria agreed to donate 20% of its proceeds on June 5 to the North Marion High School student hospitalized from a recent crash, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
During the fundraiser, someone called in an order of $500 worth of pizzas, but the caller never showed up to pay or pick up their food, deputies said in a news release on Facebook.
When the Ocala pizza shop tried calling back, it couldn’t get through to the number. A “heartless” person had scammed them, according to the sheriff’s office.
“This cruel act affects not just their business, but also the fundraising efforts for the student and her family,” deputies said.
The intended recipient of the money is the family of Hailey Crawford, who has been in a hospital for weeks following a May 14 car accident. She was flown to a hospital and intubated with a traumatic brain injury, collapsed lung and other complications, according to her mom, Brandi Cassels.
In the sheriff’s office Facebook post, deputies encouraged the community to support the local pizza joint.
The response was overwhelming.
“Wise guys is a family owned small pizzeria, they trust people. This is so unfortunate …” one Facebook user commented. “Guess I know what’s for dinner tonight.”
Lots of others chimed in to say they were going to order from the pizza shop.
Within a day of the post, WiseGuys Pizzeria received “record breaking sales,” the shop said.
“A thousand thanks yous to Sheriff Billy Woods and his generous staff for bringing attention to the selfishness prank we experienced last night at WiseGuys,” the pizzeria wrote on Facebook. “Because of the MCSO post, we experienced an outpouring of loving support from our community.”
The business said it donated more than $3,000 to the the injured student’s family.
“Our small town really showed up today,” Cassels wrote in a Facebook group dedicated to her daughter’s recovery. “I will be forever grateful for WiseGuys Pizzeria and the community of Marion County.”
Ocala is an 80-mile drive northwest from Orlando.
This story was originally published June 6, 2024 at 1:56 PM with the headline "Pizza shop scammed in fundraiser for injured student. Then Florida community rallies."