The father and a relative of Lester Domínguez, a young man from Holguín who has been wheelchair-bound since a machete attack in 2023, have publicly exposed a fraudulent scheme. This scam exploited the announcement of his humanitarian visa to reroute charitable donations through a fake link on the Crowdfunder platform.
On Wednesday afternoon, Dennis Domínguez took to Facebook to issue the first warning about the deception, elaborating on the details two days later.
Exposing the Deceit
According to Dennis's account, a woman named Loraine—associated with the phone number +1 702 985 3547, rooted in Las Vegas, Nevada—reached out to Lester. She initially offered him a phone and later claimed she had secured an emergency humanitarian visa for him, portraying herself as a lawyer and supporter of humanitarian activist Noly Blak.
Dennis also pointed to another individual: Daritza González, who was introduced as a lawyer from Havana, with the contact number +53 58456968. She allegedly requested the family's bank account details.
Emotional and Financial Impact
The father shared the emotional toll on his son: "Now the child's dream is shattered, the hope of undergoing surgery to fix the inverted vertebrae, a negligence that rests on Cuban doctors."
Expressing contrition to those who had donated, he stated: "We apologize for the scam inflicted on Lester's supporters, who aimed to improve the child's health, which continues to decline, leaving his self-esteem in tatters."
Family's Warning
Orion Cheo, a relative of Lester, also took action by posting a reel on Facebook to alert his followers before the fraud was fully confirmed.
"It seems I'm falling victim to a scam. I have no solid evidence, everything is quite confusing, and I'm asking you not to share the donation link I posted a few days ago," he said in a video that garnered over 34,000 views.
Shortly thereafter, in a more direct post, he warned: "Please do not donate to the link set up for Lester, it's a fraud. Contact your banks and report it; my sister was able to get her money back as well."
Screenshots from Crowdfunder.co.uk accompanying that post show donation confirmations of $80, $100, $320, and $1,500 to the project "Help for Young Lester Domínguez," with notes indicating that the amounts would be refunded within up to five business days.
The Ongoing Struggle
Lester's ordeal spans three years of hardship.
On March 21, 2023, at just 16 years old, Lester was assaulted with a machete in San Germán over a Huawei phone, sustaining an incomplete C5 spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed.
After enduring months on mechanical ventilation, undergoing tracheotomy, and battling bedsores and pneumonia, doctors stated in August 2025 that he was eligible for surgery to correct the inverted vertebrae, yet no concrete date for the procedure was set in Cuba.
On August 2, Lester announced he had secured an emergency humanitarian visa and initiated a campaign to raise $30,000 for surgery in the United States.
A legitimate campaign on Crowdfunder, coordinated from Las Vegas, had amassed over $11,000 of a $50,000 goal, supported by 269 donors, with a deadline of September 21.
This fraudulent activity seems to have capitalized on the media momentum to establish a parallel fake link that siphoned donations from well-meaning individuals moved by Lester's plight.
"I can't face speaking directly to the network about how they could exploit an innocent, desperate child," Dennis Domínguez wrote, encapsulating the family's outrage over the scam.
Frequently Asked Questions About Lester Domínguez's Fraud Case
What was the nature of the fraud involving Lester Domínguez?
The fraud involved a scammer setting up a fake donation link on Crowdfunder, exploiting the announcement of Lester's humanitarian visa to divert donations meant to help him get surgery in the U.S.
Who were the main individuals implicated in the scam?
The scam involved a woman named Loraine from Las Vegas and another individual, Daritza González from Havana, who were both alleged to have misled the family and donors.
How did the family respond to the scam?
The family issued warnings on social media to alert potential donors and expressed apologies for the deception that targeted those wishing to support Lester's medical needs.