San Diego

Tijuana Scammers Using Paradise Hills Tragedy for Monetary Gain, Family Says

The scammers reportedly used photos of Rosario and the boys to ask for money for a foundation

A little more than a week after an apparent murder-suicide in Paradise Hills that left an entire family dead, relatives say they have discovered people south of the border taking advantage of their tragic situation.

Sabrina Rosario, 29, and her four boys were believed to have been shot on Nov. 16 by Rosario’s estranged husband who then killed himself, according to law enforcement officials.

While three of the four boys died on Nov. 16, the fourth boy, 9-year-old Ezekiel Valdivia, survived until Saturday night when he was taken off life support.

The Paradise Hills community has been rallying around the victims’ family. Friends have hosted fundraisers and collected donations to help pay for medical expenses and funeral costs.

“I don’t get tired of saying thank you,” Rosario’s mother Gloria Collins said.

“We’re here for my cousin, that’s what we’re here for and we want people to know that she’s thankful for all of the community that has come together to help her,” Collins’s cousin Flor Archer said.

But family members were disturbed to learn about a group of people in Tijuana, Mexico trying to cash in on the family tragedy, Archer told NBC 7. This past week, the alleged scammers knocked on a family member’s door exposing the illegitimate fundraiser.

The scammers reportedly used photos of Rosario and the boys to tell people they were creating a foundation to help the family, Archer said, but they are not in contact with anyone from the family.

“It’s unbelievable what people will do in such a tragic moment to take advantage and use their pain for their own gain,” Archer added. “It’s very sad, we’re in this situation right now and it’s painful.”

Collins is planning a funeral to honor Sabrina and her four boys at a joint service in the coming weeks.

“[Collins] has lost a lot and the last thing she wants is having some people take advantage of that,” Archer said.

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