Halting crowdfunding scams, Attorney General says state will pay for Florida school shooting victims’ funerals

“If you think you’re going to scam people during this tragedy, you’re not.”

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said that the state will be paying for the funerals for the 17 people killed Wednesday in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

According to the Sun-Sentinel, Bondi made the announcement Wednesday night during an appearance on the Fox cable network, where she also said that GoFundMe will be closely monitoring their campaigns for fraud. Bondi said that no money will be dispersed through the website unless the campaign is found to be legitimate.

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“We will pay for the funeral expenses of these poor victims, [and] do everything we can to help their families,” Bondi said.“We will pay for counseling for the surviving victims. We will pay for students who need counseling.”

“We will pay for the funeral expenses of these poor victims. We will take care of it.”

According to the attorney general, advocates are reaching out to the victims’ families to have them fill out paperwork and start the process of providing support.

READ More: ‘Everyone predicted it’: Reports of prior warning signs revealed after Florida school shooting suspect identified

While the state cracks down on fraudulent charities, the Broward Education Foundation has set up a GoFundMe which will provide financial support to the victims and their families. The campaign has raised more than $248,000 as of Thursday afternoon.

[Featured Image: Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, Florida Governor Rick Scott/AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee]