Family of 9-year-old boy battling cancer plagued by fake fundraisers using his likeness

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Nine-year-old Julian has been battling brain cancer since 2019. He's relapsed twice, and two years ago he was given six months to a year to live, but is still going strong.

"We are thoroughly and emotionally worn out," Julian's father, Lee Galloway, said.

Galloway said they now make monthly trips from their home in Corpus Christi to Houston for Julian's treatment. And through all the ups and downs, they've kept friends and family informed through a Facebook page.

"It started as just a few hundred people, and now the page has several thousand followers," Galloway said.

Little did they know that Julian's photos and stories would also reach apparent fraudsters. The last year they've been plagued by fake social media accounts using Julian's photos and story but a different name. They claim they've raised thousands of dollars but need more to match their goal. If you click on the link, it's connected to a PayPal asking for payment in euros.

"It was never in our thoughts. It was just a way to tell people all the exact information. We were so brand new into the cancer journey," Galloway said.

Lee said they report these fake accounts when they pop up but feel the social media sites don't make it easy enough for fake accounts to be taken down.

"Sometimes there are things you want to report that don't fit into any of the categories on their reporting page on any of the social media sites. When you don't click the right thing and no one actually sees it, it's just some AI that says we've reviewed this and it doesn't violate any terms of use. That's frustrating," Galloway said.

If you believe you are a victim of a fake fundraiser, you can reach out to the Harris County Attorney and their Stay Scam Free page to report it.

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