This story has since been updated.
Oscar's Frozen Custard in the town of Brookfield caught fire early Tuesday morning and was reduced to rubble.
Within hours, at least two fundraisers for Oscar's appeared on GoFundMe. A link to one of them was shared on the Waukesha County Crime and Community Information Facebook page, which has more than 17,000 members.
Brittany Hassler is the founder.
Hassler, who has lived in Waukesha County for decades, said, "Oscar's is Waukesha, and I know it's in Franklin and other areas, but it's kind of what makes Waukesha, Waukesha."
For her, Oscar's is a core memory.
"I used to go there when I was younger with my dad, my grandma, and my neighbor," Hassler added.
Tuesday night, Hassler said she believed someone was trying to profit from Oscar's tragedy.
"Some guy posted it in my Facebook group on one of the posts I shared, and he goes, 'My sister made a GoFundMe,'" Hassler said.
"I tried messaging him, he didn't respond, and I looked into his page and said there's something off about this," Hassler explained.
During our interview with Hassler, we took a look at the GoFundMe page, which now says, "Fundraiser not found."
"So literally in the time we've been talking, it's been taken down, it seems like," reporter Jenna Rae said.
"Good, good," Hassler responded.
Susie Taylor, Oscar's owner, confirmed they are not asking for donations on GoFundMe or anywhere else.
"It is so heartwarming that people want to help out and that they're so concerned, especially about our staff. We are making sure that our employees are taken care of, we're working out details with our insurance company, and they will be well taken care of," Taylor explained.
In the meantime, Hassler is asking people to support Oscar's other locations in Franklin and West Allis.
"Just go support Oscar's at their other locations. Pray for them that they can rebuild," Hassler said.
A GoFundMe spokesperson contacted TMJ4 after seeing our report, reiterating the platform's zero-tolerance policy for misuse.
You can read their statement below.
“When there’s an unspeakable tragedy, people have a deep urge to help and provide comfort to those affected - it’s not uncommon for someone to create a GoFundMe to help another individual after a news report.
For our team to verify a fundraiser, it must be clear who the organizer is, as well as the person, business, or charity they are raising funds for, the organizer’s relationship to the recipient of the funds, and how the funds will be used. If additional information is needed to complete the verification review, our team places a hold on a fundraiser which prevents funds from being withdrawn, pending further review.
In this case, both fundraisers were removed from the platform and zero dollars was raised. Our team will continue to monitor the platform for related fundraisers.”
On Thursday, TMJ4 was contacted by two siblings who said they were actually the creators of one of the GoFundMe's that was circling social media. Jessica Sosnoski and Christian Raymond live in the area and said they go to Oscar's frequently.
The two of them created the GoFundMe after seeing coverage of the fire at Oscar's early Tuesday morning. They also said they had been in contact with Taylor, Oscar's owner, and told her about the GoFundMe.
"I really love Oscar's, and I wanted to do something to help that was above and beyond having to deplete their insurance," Sosnoski said.
Sosnoski's name was on the now removed GoFundMe.
She said she had started the GoFundMe, but hadn't gone through all the necessary steps, like adding a beneficiary. She said she was waiting to talk with Taylor before moving forward.
Raymond, Sosnoski's brother, was the one who posted his sister's GoFundMe on the Waukesha County Crime and Community Information Facebook page.
"This isn't about me or my sister trying to help somebody, it's about the act of helping. Let's help them," Raymond said in an interview with TMJ4.
Raymond said Hassler, the founder of the Facebook page the fundraiser was posted on, didn't give him enough time to respond to Facebook messages regarding the legitimacy of their GoFundMe.
Both Raymond and Sosnoski said they want to reiterate that they were just trying to raise money for a local business, but feel others squashed it too soon.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
