A fraudulent website claiming to be the Diogo Jota Foundation shut down after raising nearly £50,000 in donations, with Liverpool, Jota’s family, and major organisations denying any affiliation.
A website claiming to be the “Diogo Jota Foundation” has vanished after reportedly raising nearly £50,000 in public donations, despite Liverpool FC and the late footballer’s family denying any knowledge of its existence. The foundation’s domain, diogojotafoundation.org, now shows a blank page after The Telegraph revealed discrepancies in its operations.
The site, launched just days after Jota’s death in July, claimed to support youth empowerment and community projects, while displaying logos of Liverpool, UNICEF, Allianz, and the Portuguese Platform of Development NGOs. However, three of these organisations denied involvement. The UK Charity Commission also confirmed that the foundation never applied for registration, which is legally required for charities in England or Wales with income over £5,000.
Suspicion deepened after the site accepted only cryptocurrency donations. NOWPayments, listed as its processor, said: “We are aware that the NOWPayments payment system may have been used for fraudulent fundraising activities… Our widget is not active on the foundation’s website.”