Updated

Updated · Deadline · Jun 18

Daveigh Chase's Ex-Manager Urges Halt to GoFundMe, Says Estate Can Cover Cremation

Updated

Updated · Deadline · Jun 18

Daveigh Chase's Ex-Manager Urges Halt to GoFundMe, Says Estate Can Cover Cremation

Q: With millions in her estate, is the GoFundMe for 'The Ring' actress a genuine plea or a scam?

It appears highly questionable, and the strongest available evidence points away from it being a legitimate need-based fundraiser. Daveigh Chase’s former manager, John Ryan, and her father, John Schwallier, say the GoFundMe was not authorized by the family and that Hernandez had no authority to handle her medical, cremation, or memorial arrangements. They say Chase’s estate and a SAG trust account contain more than enough money to cover those costs, directly undercutting the fundraiser’s stated purpose. That matters because Hernandez’s page reportedly sought money for medical bills, funeral expenses, and later a memorial and cremation. If the family is already paying those expenses and says the estate has ample funds, donors have little assurance their money would be used for Chase’s care or burial. Ryan and other relatives and friends have publicly urged people not to give and say they are reporting the page to GoFundMe. Hernandez denies wrongdoing and told TMZ the fundraiser is “100 percent” legitimate. But as of now, there is no public indication that Chase’s next of kin approved the campaign, and the people legally and personally closest to her are disputing it. So the safest reading is this: the fundraiser has not been proven a scam in a legal sense, but based on the family’s objections, the lack of authorization, and claims that Chase had sufficient estate resources, it carries serious red flags and should be treated with extreme caution.

3 articles · Updated · Deadline · Jun 18

John Ryan, Daveigh Chase’s former manager, urged people not to donate to a GoFundMe set up by boyfriend Roy Hernandez, saying Chase’s estate has enough money to cover cremation and other arrangements.
Ryan said Chase’s father is next of kin, never authorized Hernandez to act for her, and that the family has contacted GoFundMe to report the page as unauthorized.
Roy Hernandez told TMZ it is “100 percent” false to say the fundraiser is illegitimate; Deadline said it had not yet received a direct response from him.
Chase, 35, died June 16 from complications of meningitis after what Hernandez had described on the fundraiser as a critical illness involving meningitis and serious blood infections.