Organizers of donation pages for HVAC technicians killed in York Co. warn of fake GoFundMe sites

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - James Lewis and Robert Shook were fathers.

They were also HVAC technicians with GSM Services, based out of Gastonia.

The two were shot and killed on April 7 while working at the home of Dr. Robert and Barbara Lesslie in York County.

The support for these men continues to grow.

A joint GoFundMe page set up by GSM is now at $250,000.

But, sadly, there are also some fraudulent GoFundMe pages that have been set up and the families of the men killed.

Organizers want to make sure people don’t donate to scam artists.

GoFundMe pages for the HVAC techs set up by their company continue to grow, and the owners say all the money will go to the children who lost their dads.

But the owners also want to make sure you look carefully at any link if you choose to donate.

Five nights since they were shot, the community is still showing up to help the Lesslie, Lewis and Shook families.

James Lewis and Robert Shook were both 38-year-old fathers, each having three children.

Since Wednesday, three GoFundMe pages have been created by GSM to help the Lewis and Shook families.

The first page, donations are split between both families with the second and third going directly to each family.

In a statement sent to WBTV News, GSM President Joel Long said:

“We understand that when these things like this happen in today’s world, there is always the chance of some fraud, or someone trying to take advantage of the situation for personal gain. We are going to fight that at every turn.”

Monday night, the Shook family told WBTV that they know of at least two fraudulent Go Fund Me accounts they say GSM helped get taken down.

They were set up by people the Shook Family says they didn’t know.

In Long’s statement, he also thanked law enforcement, local officials and medical staff who worked to save Shook’s life.

“Now it is the outreach and support from individuals we don’t even know, friends, and businesses, some local and some from all parts of the country,” Long said. “This is a tragic event, and we will probably never fully recover in some ways, but I don’t ever want to hear that the bad in our world outweighs the good. Even in our current situation, it is obvious to us that we will prevail because of all the support and love.”

That support for the families was shown Sunday night during a vigil in Rock Hill.

People shared memories of Dr. Robert and Barbara Lesslie’s grandchildren Adah and Noah.

“She would point to every place she had seen a fish in the pond, to let me know where they were,” said Rev. Bob Elliott, pastor at First ARP Church. “Again, being a big helper so I would know where to get the fish from. And Noah would always just borrow my rod and hold it for a few minutes.”

The Lesslie’s children even spoke, thanking the community.

“These last few days have certainly been filled with much suffering and grief but also peppered with the most amazing treasures sent directly from God,” said Amy Kulbok, daughter of Robert and Barbara Lesslie.

If you would like to donate, the official pages will say organized by GSM Services.

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