First Published:
10:38 AM PDT, June 23, 2022
Police in Suffolk County, New York, are investigating whether a father used his 7-year-old daughter to scam people by taking money for Girl Scout cookies and never actually delivering them.
Surveillance video shows the little girl going door-to-door in a Long Island neighborhood. As she knocked on one door, there was an adult, presumably her dad, hovering protectively close by.
The dad watched as homeowner Christina Fogarty ordered a bunch of cookies with cash. And when Fogarty asked when they’d be delivered, the dad answered, “About two weeks.”
“She was a sweetheart, she really was,” Fogarty told Inside Edition.
But the Girl Scout cookies were never delivered. In fact, cops say at least 11 families are reporting that they may have been conned by the little girl’s father.
“I found out she was 7 years old. And I was like, ‘Oh, you’re right around the age of my little girls.’ I said, ‘We should do a playdate,’” Fogarty said.
Ring video from another home shows a similar scene. Kevin Zasowski says he gave the pair $20 for cookies he never got.
“It wasn’t much money. It’s just the principle of it,” Zasowski.
Some residents are hoping there’s a legitimate explanation, and those who paid for cookies said they aren’t blaming the little girl. They say if it does turn out to be a con, all the fault lies with the grownup who should definitely know better.
The local Girl Scout Council says it’s working with police and promises they’ll give cookies to those people who may have been scammed.
