Chapter 4 - The Court of Public Opinion
When entitled people lose their leverage, they resort to public smear campaigns.
By Wednesday, my phone was buzzing with notifications. Beatrice had taken to Facebook and TikTok. She posted a tearful, highly edited video sitting next to a weeping Jessica.
“My heroic son died serving his country,” Beatrice cried to the camera, “and his cold, calculating wife has thrown his pregnant girlfriend onto the street. She is stealing the military pension from an unborn child. Please donate to our GoFundMe to help us afford legal fees to fight this monster.”
Within hours, the video had fifty thousand views. Keyboard warriors who knew nothing of the Uniform Code of Military Justice were calling for my resignation.
My commanding officer called me into his office. “Eleanor, this is becoming a PR nightmare for the Navy. Can you handle this quietly?”
“I won't handle it quietly, sir,” I said. “I will handle it legally.”
I sat at my computer and drafted a Cease and Desist order, but I didn't just send it to Beatrice. I sent it directly to the legal department of GoFundMe, attaching the deed to my house, the authentic SGLI beneficiary form, and a formal declaration of wire fraud.
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Under federal law, raising funds under fraudulent pretenses is a crime. Beatrice had claimed I was stealing a pension that Jessica was legally entitled to. Since Jessica had zero legal standing, the fundraiser was a scam.
By sunset, the GoFundMe page was suspended, and the $15,000 they had raised was frozen pending a fraud investigation. The silence from Beatrice’s social media was deafening.
