A woman who once allegedly faked her own pregnancy by wearing prosthetics to simulate a growing belly is now being accused of scamming Good Samaritans out of at least $11,000 by concocting a story that her husband fought the recent California wildfires.

Ashley Bemis, 28, is being investigated by police in Southern California after numerous people complained that they had been duped into donating money and supplies to a fake firefighter husband.

Bemis, a wedding planner from San Clemente, posted a message on a Facebook page claiming that her husband, Shane Goodman, was on the front lines of the recent wildfires and that he desperately needed supplies, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Beginning on August 10, well-wishers began to donate air mattresses, baby wipes, clothing, food, ear plugs, and candy after seeing the Facebook post, which included photos and an elaborate back story.

‘Shane works for Cal Fire and is out on the Holy Fire right now,’ she wrote in the post, according to the Orange County Register.

‘I also have two other family members and many friends out on this fire and other fires burning here in California.

‘I received a text today from Shane saying it’s pretty much a living hell out there battling the unpredictable “Holy Hell Fire”.’

Ashley Bemis, 28, is being investigated by police in Southern California after numerous people complained that they had been duped into donating money and supplies to a fake firefighter husband

Ashley Bemis, 28, is being investigated by police in Southern California after numerous people complained that they had been duped into donating money and supplies to a fake firefighter husband

The Facebook post, which also included a list of four drop-off locations in San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano, has since been deleted.

‘She had gone to great lengths to make herself seem very legitimate,’ a spokesperson for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said.

Bemis received $11,000 worth of supplies as well as thousands of dollars in contributions, according to authorities.

But within a week a number of individuals contacted law enforcement and said there was something suspicious about Bemis.

One of them, Quinn Bork, told investigators in San Clemente that in 2012 he and his wife, Starla, threw a baby shower for Bemis.

Months later, the couple learned that Bemis faked the pregnancy so that she could take the gifts she received and sell them.

Starla Bork spent several hundred dollars to throw the baby shower, Quinn Bork told police.

‘It was money she really couldn’t afford but she wanted to help Ashley,’ Quinn Bork told investigators.

Another woman who helped organize the baby shower said she received a text message from Bemis at around the time the baby was due.

The woman said Bemis texted her that she was in a hospital and that the baby was ‘stillborn.’

Bemis received $11,000 worth of supplies as well as thousands of dollars in contributions, according to authorities. But within a week a number of individuals contacted law enforcement and said there was something suspicious about Bemis

Bemis received $11,000 worth of supplies as well as thousands of dollars in contributions, according to authorities. But within a week a number of individuals contacted law enforcement and said there was something suspicious about Bemis

Bemis received $11,000 worth of supplies as well as thousands of dollars in contributions, according to authorities. But within a week a number of individuals contacted law enforcement and said there was something suspicious about Bemis

Police say that the woman then contacted the hospital Bemis claimed to have been staying at, Hoag Hospital.

Officials at the hospital told her that there was no record of Ashley Bemis checking in and that they did not have a stillborn baby in two years.

After she checked other hospitals and found that none of them confirmed Bemis’ claims, she knew she was scammed.

In 2012, Bemis is also alleged to have dressed up a boy she was hired to look after as a nanny and posted a photo of him on Facebook disguised as her daughter.

The woman who hired Bemis to look after her son obtained a restraining order against her fearing that she would kidnap her son.

An investigation which began following the complaints revealed that there was no Cal Fire firefighter named Shane Goodman.

‘In fact, he doesn’t exist,’ Carrie Braun, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson, said.

Bemis claimed that her 'husband', Shane Goodman, was fighting California wildfires. But an investigation revealed that she is not married and that a Shane Goodman does not exist

Bemis claimed that her 'husband', Shane Goodman, was fighting California wildfires. But an investigation revealed that she is not married and that a Shane Goodman does not exist

Bemis claimed that her ‘husband’, Shane Goodman, was fighting California wildfires. But an investigation revealed that she is not married and that a Shane Goodman does not exist

Authorities also learned that Bemis was not married and did not have any children.

Police executed a search warrant on her home and took back the donated items, but authorities say that they are still investigating just how much cash she managed to raise.

Law enforcement agencies are asking anyone who donated money to Bemis to report to the San Clemente office of the Sheriff’s Department and fill out a questionnaire.

‘We’re hoping the community will do a good job of coming forward for us so we’re able to present the best case possible [to the Orange County district attorney’s office] to hold this individual accountable for her actions,’ Braun told the Los Angeles Times.

As of late Monday, Bemis has not been arrested or charged with a crime.

Police say she is cooperating. 

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