Police Urge Caution in Considering 'JuJu' Donation Groups

Police are warning residents to be cautious and diligent in checking out groups that are soliciting donations related to the search for and death of Terry "JuJu" Smith Jr.

The only legitimate fund collecting donations before Wednesday was the Find Terry Smith fund, set up at Wells Fargo Bank by the Find Terry Smith organization -- a group of volunteers who coordinated search efforts before the 11-year-old boy was found dead.

Other groups or individuals posting messages on Facebook about donations for the Smith family or otherwise may not be credible, police say.

"People need to be cautious," said Sgt. Lisa McConnell of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. "Be diligent and make sure the fund is legitimate."

Concerns have been raised about Facebook posts regarding a Terry Smith Memorial Fund established by the group Riverside County Leadership Forum. There has been some confusion about the credibility of the group and its purpose in opening a Pay Pal account to donate to the memorial fund.

Actually, this is a credible group that has been around for some time. According to Steve Grasha, director of the group, its primary purpose is to support political candidates prior to elections. However, it has used its email list of more than 198,000 Riverside County residents to seek donations for people in need.

"Between elections, we decided to help people, using this great database we have to get the word out," Grasha said. "I believe our page was linked to on one of the "Find Terry Smith" pages, which is why people in Menifee are asking about us."

Grasha said people who click on the link to donate on his group's Facebook page are taken to a Pay Pal account page where the Terry Smith Memorial Fund is listed separately from the group's other funds. He said about $200 has been collected for this fund so far.

There have been discussions by other groups to form a more localized legitimate fund to accept donations, but nothing has been finalized.