Philadelphia Man Arrested for Raising Money While Claiming to Be Trump Family Member

A 'Make America Great Again' hat in a file photo. Mark Makela/Getty Images

A Philadelphia man has been charged with fraud for allegedly impersonating family members of former President Donald Trump to raise funds for a fake political group.

Joshua Hall, 22, was arrested on the morning of June 8 and will be subsequently presented on the same day in a Harrisburg federal court.

“Joshua Hall allegedly impersonated family members of the then-President of the United States on social media to fraudulently induce hundreds of victims to donate to a political organization that did not exist, and then pocketed those funds for his own use,” said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss.

“We thank the FBI for their partnership in the investigation of this case, and we remain dedicated to rooting out and prosecuting fraud wherever we find it.”

The complaint alleges that Hall victimized hundreds of people saying he was raising funds to support the reelection of Trump. He was able to gather more than 100,000 followers and was covered by media, however, the political organization he claimed to be representing was completely fictitious and he spent the money for himself.

He gathered thousands of dollars from hundreds of people throughout the United States.

Hall has been charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, facing a maximum sentence of twenty years.

“Hall led hundreds of people to believe they were donating to an organization that didn’t exist by pretending to be someone he wasn’t, as alleged," said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney.

“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.”