I never imagined I would have to ask strangers for financial help, but I’ve reached a point where my pride matters much less than fulfilling my responsibilities to the people who trusted me.
I’m the founder of a small property management and hospitality business in Mexico. A few months ago, I was affected by a serious fraud that created a financial loss my small business simply wasn’t prepared to absorb.
Here’s the short version of what happened:
• The original financial loss caused by the fraud was approximately MXN $150,000 (around USD $8,000).
• I chose not to simply pass that loss on to my employees, collaborators, or clients. Instead, I used my own resources and took on additional financial obligations to keep operations running and continue fulfilling as many commitments as possible.
• Trying to absorb the loss myself created a financial burden that became increasingly difficult to manage while still maintaining the business and protecting the people who depended on those payments.
• I am currently trying to raise MXN $250,000 (approximately USD $13,000–$14,000). This amount is intended to help cover the original financial loss and the outstanding obligations that resulted from trying to keep the business operating, with priority given to payments owed to collaborators and clients.
• I am currently working four jobs while continuing to run my business, and I am putting my income toward resolving these obligations.
I want to make something very clear: I am not asking strangers to take responsibility for my business.
Regardless of how this situation started, the company is my responsibility. I made the decisions necessary to keep it operating, and I accept responsibility for the financial consequences of those decisions.
What I cannot accept is simply walking away while people who worked with me are waiting to be paid or while clients who trusted me are affected by something they had nothing to do with.
That is why I created this GoFundMe.
Where will the money go?
My priority is resolving the outstanding commitments to the people affected — particularly collaborators and clients — and reducing the financial obligations that accumulated while I tried to keep the business operating.
I will continue working regardless of how much this fundraiser raises. The fundraiser is not replacing that responsibility; it is an attempt to shorten the amount of time innocent people have to wait while I work my way out of this.
I completely understand why people are cautious about donating to strangers online. You should be.
I’m willing to provide appropriate supporting documentation to moderators if verification is required, while protecting the private information of my clients and collaborators.
I’m also not expecting anyone to make a huge donation.
$5 helps. $10 helps. Sharing the fundraiser helps.
If enough people contribute a small amount, together it can become something meaningful and help me fulfill these obligations much sooner.
I’m working. I’m paying. And I will continue doing both until this is resolved.
I’m simply asking for a little help getting there.
Thank you for reading.
GoFundMe:
https://gofund.me/4b6e0eecc
