Mom blasts fake fundraiser for her seriously ill baby

By Tom Bevan

A horrified mom says a fake fundraiser for her sick baby has duped the public into donating thousands of pounds to the scammer.

Katelyn Clarke, 23, launched a genuine fundraising appeal for eleven-month-old Macey-Mai after tests showed an ultra-rare birthmark was cancerous.

But she was shocked when she discovered heartless strangers had created a duplicate GoFundMe account in her daughter's name - and fleeced unwitting donors who thought they were contributing to Macey-Mai's appeal.

A total of $12,600 has already been raised and Katelyn, who is in the process of reporting it as fraud, blasted: "They are making thousands of a seriously ill child."

Macey-Mai was born with giant congenital melanocytic nevus (GCMN), a benign, tumor-like malformation.

It results from faulty development of pigment cells and covers her entire back as well as the sides of her stomach, scalp, legs and arms.

She had seven lesions removed from her largest birthmark in August 2025 at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London.

These were all sent for genetic testing and a biopsy to check if they were malignant.

After months of waiting for the results, they received the heartbreaking news that one of the lumps was in fact malignant.

Tests have shown there is a cancerous change within Macey’s largest birthmark which could potentially become seriously dangerous.

The genuine GoFundMe appeal was set up to raise money to help cover costs of attending dozens of appointments at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.

But the fake one falsely claims that they have chosen to seek private treatment for Macey after the NHS ‘refused’ to remove her CGMN.

Katelyn, from Plymouth, Devon, said she was 'heartbroken' at the fraud and added: "Macey desperately needed those funds and for someone to be so sick as to make a fake page to make thousands off her story is horrible.

“I felt heartbroken that someone could do this to our family and to Macey-Mai.

“Not only that but they're taking donations from innocent people who think they're helping Macey-Mai when they're basically being stolen from.

“These are funds that would’ve gone a massively long way in helping Macey-Mai, donations she’ll never get back.”

Katelyn, who has two other children, says that constantly travelling to appointments makes it difficult for them to spend family time together.

In the last 11 months they have attended dozens of appointments in London and are currently anxiously awaiting the biopsy results of her latest operation to find out if another lesion on her birthmark is cancerous.

Speaking previously on the devastating diagnosis, she added: "I have never cried like that before, my heart’s been broken since we received the news that one of the lumps was malignant.

"It has been very hard to comprehend.

"I knew that with this condition you would probably face malignancy at some point but they said that’s when you are an adult.

"They never say that you can be born with it so it’s devastating to know that it’s already the case."

The National Library of Medicine says the condition affects 1 per cent of newborns, with 1 in 20,000–500,000 live births being reported with GCMN.

It can vary in color from tan to black, and the surface can be flat, raised, rough or bumpy and it's larger than 20cm.

Katelyn said that she has to monitor her daughter's birthmark for the next few months to see if there are any changes to it.

She said: "They want me to monitor it by checking any bleeding, any changing in size because any change will probably warrant that there’s melanoma within her nevus.

"Every single day I have got to take photos, to sit there and look at every single inch of her.

"Any changes, even the smallest changes can warrant the worst."

Katelyn added she has to buy special sleep suits for her to make sure she is comfortable when lying down due to her irritable skin.

She said: "Her skin is completely irritable.

"The second she is on her back even if she's in a chair she is rubbing her back.

"We've had to go out of our way and purchase special sleep suits for babies with eczema just so she can sleep a bit better at night.

"It doesn't really help but I'm spending $26 on just a single suit - that's a lot.

"We use around 10 of those per week."

Since she was born, her family has managed to raise $20,000 which has helped to ensure Macey-Mai could attend continuous health care appointments in London helping to cover the cost of travel expenses and everything needed while they are away.

Katelyn added: "Not only this but donations have helped provide Macey with everything absolutely necessary for her and her journey so far living with CMN."