Parkway victims' families scammed

YORK COUNTY, Va. (WAVY) - A man who claimed to be throwing a fundraiser for Colonial Parkway murder victims is being investigated for fraud.

The York County Sheriff's office said Fred Atwell turned himself into the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail Tuesday afternoon.

Atwell was charged with one count of grand larceny by false pretenses, but could face additional charges as the investigation continues.

Police said Atwell claimed to throwing a car raffle to benefit the 'The Colonial Parkway Victims' Fund', but there were no cars.

According to Sargent Ivey with the York County Sheriff's Office, victims of the scam wrote checks to Atwell in association with some fees for the fraudulent raffle.

'The Colonial Parkway Victims' Fund' was started by the families of the victims to help fund rewards and investigative costs. They had no idea that the car raffle wasn't legitimate.

Atwell is being held on $1,000 bond.

Morse Investigation Services released this statement on behalf of the families of the Colonial Parkway murders and the 'Colonial Parkway Victims' Fund':

" In mid July 2011, family members of the Colonial Parkway Victims raised concern with details regarding fundraising events involving Fred Atwell, Jr. Morse Investigation Services looked into this matter and found evidence that at least one fraud had been committed...It is important to know that the families have gone through 20 years of unanswered questions and have not been able to find closure on these cases. This has been difficult on every member of the family. To have someone so trusted and relied upon perpetrate such an outrageous fraud only hurts the victims' families even further..."

If you were a victim of this scam contact York County Police.