22-Year-Old Impersonator Charged with Tricking Donald Trump Supporters Into Giving Him Thousands

Donald Trump.Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty

A Pennsylvania man was arrested Tuesday and now faces federal fraud and identity theft charges after, prosecutors say, he impersonated family members ofDonald Trumpto dupe hundreds of the former president’s supporters out of thousands of dollars.

The Justice Department said in astatementthat Joshua Hall, 22, appeared in federal court Tuesday to face charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with an alleged social media scheme.

It was unclear Wednesday if he has entered a plea.

Hall gained widespread attention in November when Trump, 74, mistakenly retweeted a post from one of Hall’s accounts believing it was actually his older sister, Elizabeth Trump Grau.

The fake tweet referenced Trump’s baseless claims about his 2020 election loss, to which the president responded: “Thank you Elizabeth. LOVE!”

TheNew York Timessoon afterpublished an expansive reporton Hall’s impersonations of Trump family members and other public figures, including an interview with Hall himself.

“I was like shellshocked,” Hall, a Pennsylvania-based delivery driver, told theTimesabout the moment Trump retweeted him.

“I’m a big Trump supporter, but I’m thinking, ‘He’s got to know that that’s a parody,’ " Hall told the newspaper. “How does he not know?”

Donald Trump.Joe Raedle/Getty Images

TheTimesreported then that Hall created numerous fake accounts for Trump family members throughout 2020, including Trump’s older sister, his late brother Robert Trump, and his teenage son,Barron Trump.

Together the accounts had gained more than 100,000 followers on Twitter, according to theTimes— a number authorities referenced again this week.

While posing as the former president’s brother Robert,who diedin August, Hall promoted a fake organization called “Gay Voices for Trump” which received more than $7,000 via a GoFundMe, the paper reported.

Hall faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the wire fraud charge and a mandatory two-year sentence on the identity theft charge, the Justice Department said.

According to theTimes, Hall said he never withdrew the GoFundMe money, but a spokesperson for the website said their records indicate he did.

The FBI pointed to Hall’s alleged actions while warning the public to carefully vet political fundraisers online.

“As we continue to investigate fraud in all its many forms, we urge the public to remain aware of the prevalence of online scams and exercise due diligence when making donations online,” Sweeney Jr. said.

source: people.com