Victoria - The Result

[Michael Leigh]

I ditto everyone elses sentiments.
Your a good dude, Jeff.Something that everyone who has interacted or meet you knows.
People are fucked sometimes. As small as we think our community may be, it's a close knit and tight one.
This ass has it coming to him.There is a such thing as Karma,and this ass will be reward for his deed.

Thanks for your compassion Jeff, and like everyone else said,no need to apologize.

[msmercury01]

First of all, no, it was not Monker!! I have no idea how that got started. Second of all, yes, Victoria was involved in the hoax too.
Nothing more to be said. I've already said my piece on the JSS forum. I echo everyone's sentiments of Jeff and Jeff knows how I feel.
Teri

[SusieP]

......... Second of all, yes, Victoria was involved in the hoax too.
Nothing more to be said. Teri

Thanks for clearing that up. It was puzzling me.
What I can't understand is.....WHY????

[StevePerryHair]

Jeff, don't ever apologize for having a huge heart. As sick and twisted as this was, it sure showed what a caring community/family we have become here.

exactly deb.

and that we are right about jeff. how blessed we are to have him as a friend. AND each other. you all amaze me.

save all of yourselves for love and positive. no need to drag the scumbag around with us and weigh us down. curse, swear, yell, throw something and release it. God is ALWAYS in control. we stand victorious as we obeyed as we were lead to believe. I'm proud of us.

love to all

Debbie

Yes Debbie, and Pam decided when we were talking last night, that maybe it was our prayers that didn't allow this to get to a level where money was involved, which we're sure was the next step. And also wondered if maybe they never counted on Jeff getting involved. It seems once he was involved, they had to cover too many bases and the story just became ridiculous. I think Jeff actually helped to save our asses from the fraud before it went any further! It's really cool being part of an internet community of people who care so much.

[treetopovskaya]

about 13 years ago my ex and i got news that his sister was killed in a head on collision with a truck on her way up to big bear. we spent DAYS trying to get in contact with anyone who could tell us anything about the accident. nothing. then we got a call saying that she had been buried next to her mom. so my ex called the cemetery and we were told that she had not been buried there. weeks later the phone rings and guess what... it's her! still don't know what really happened. if it was her that cooked this up or one of her ex boyfriends... probably both. she isn't a very nice person (bitch is a better word or maybe that "c" word... ha ha!). some people just need attention & they do crazy things to get it. }:C\

[StevePerryHair]

I still think there were monetary goals here. Not just an attention thing. Frauds will spend MONTHS gaining the trust of people, just to get their money in the end. I really think that's what everyone was in the middle of and it just grew too big for them to handle. Criminals aren't the brightes bulbs.

[MindFreak]

I don't understand why people need to post "personal stuff" in a public forum.
These forums are for the topics at hand.

Shit gets so out of hand because people feel the need to air the personal laundry to complete strangers.

Some subjects should be kept private.
Look as this disaster, how much havoc it caused.

Forums being called "family" is something I don't understand.

IF it was true, and THANK THE LORD ABOVE, it was not..............Would this poor girl, want the world to know she was attacked, and deatails of her treatment, etc..... I think it's envading someones privacy.

What happened to diginity and respect??

[Moon Beam]

I gave these pond scum sucking mother fuckers
my home info!!!!, to show good faith that I meant
Victoria no harm.
We have no money so go ahead and put our ass's deeper
in debt, my thoughts are for myself when I tell my
husband about this., not to mention the safety of
my family.
He is gonna have the biggest wing-ding on my head.
I wanted folks to know how stupid I was so maybe
we will all be a bit more cautious if a situation like this
ever arises again.
Thanks for giving us the news Sir Soto, I'm sorry your
heart was dragged through this as well but it doesn't
change my thoughts on what a caring, helpful man
you really are.

[Just Mindy]

Sick people out there.

[Lady Luck]

I gave these pond scum sucking mother fuckers
my home info!!!!, to show good faith that I meant
Victoria no harm.

I almost did! I was going to see today if I could get the hospital/room number she was in to send some flowers.

MindFreak...Dignity? Respect? Invading someone's privacy? Are you fucking kidding me?!

[Trailblazer]

My knowledge of Journey pales in comparison to the regulars on this board - one of the reasons I have hesitated to "dive in". After reading all of this, I can no longer stay hidden. I really don't know any of you good people, but I am absolutely furious that someone could perpetrate such a despicable scheme for profit by playing on the emotions of everyone here. Too bad these fucking morons don't put that same energy into finding honest work. God, this just pisses me off!

I do believe in what goes around comes around. These people will eventually get what's coming to them. In the meantime, I tip my hat to all of the folks on this Journey board. Your concern for others is something to be admired. As for Jeff Scott Soto - sir, you are a rose among many thorns! I am officially adding my name to your ever-growing list of fans.

[joybringer1]

I'd never been to Jeff's forum until this incident so I didn't know Victoria at all but even as a stranger I still felt sick at the thought of what had happened to her and touched at Jeff's response. Finding it was all a hoax and that she was involved in it I was curious so I visited her My Space page to try to get a handle on the kind of person who could do something like this.

Looking at her pictures I see a big, bold, boisterous girl. In one photo she's pictured in a close-up face to face with a young man with some nasty-looking facial injuries. She's grinning like a Cheshire cat and the picture is entitled something like "Me having a great time in the emergency room". Even that shows a remarkable lack of empathy.

I agree with AR in a previous post that it was just kids playing a sick joke. She's obviously young and stupid, and looking at her and reading her words I'd say she was just trying to stir things up rather than seriously intending to perpetrate fraud.

[piecesofeight]

After reading through various post here and there, it is obvious that Victoria was involved, and also obvious once we found out this wasn't true because if I was ok and saw something like this being posted about me, I sure as hell would let people know I was ok.
As soon as we were told that she had been questioned at work by the police, I knew she was involved or else she would have posted that it wasn't true.
Don't let your hearts be too hardened by all of this because someone getting hurt, for real, could come up again and will need good thoughts/prayers.
Don't slam me to hard for this one, but those of you who believe in a God and prayer deep down in your soul/heart know what I mean when I say that she obviously still needs our prayers because she's not in a right spot.

[StevePerryHair]

I'd never been to Jeff's forum until this incident so I didn't know Victoria at all but even as a stranger I still felt sick at the thought of what had happened to her and touched at Jeff's response. Finding it was all a hoax and that she was involved in it I was curious so I visited her My Space page to try to get a handle on the kind of person who could do something like this.

Looking at her pictures I see a big, bold, boisterous girl. In one photo she's pictured in a close-up face to face with a young man with some nasty-looking facial injuries. She's grinning like a Cheshire cat and the picture is entitled something like "Me having a great time in the emergency room". Even that shows a remarkable lack of empathy.

I agree with AR in a previous post that it was just kids playing a sick joke. She's obviously young and stupid, and looking at her and reading her words I'd say she was just trying to stir things up rather than seriously intending to perpetrate fraud.

How do you know she is really a kid? How do you know how old she really is? We don't know anything about her and EVERYTHING she has been telling people could be a complete lie. People can become whatever they want on an internet forum site.

[joybringer1]

How do you know she is really a kid? How do you know how old she really is? We don't know anything about her and EVERYTHING she has been telling people could be a complete lie. People can become whatever they want on an internet forum site.

StevePerryHair - I've been reading all the posts and as I understood it there are posters who knew her and could vouch that she was an 18 year old girl. If people from the forum didn't know her identity then how did the police know where to go to her work to interview her? Would you care to comment?

[SunshineTwilight]

After reading through various post here and there, it is obvious that Victoria was involved, and also obvious once we found out this wasn't true because if I was ok and saw something like this being posted about me, I sure as hell would let people know I was ok.
As soon as we were told that she had been questioned at work by the police, I knew she was involved or else she would have posted that it wasn't true.
Don't let your hearts be too hardened by all of this because someone getting hurt, for real, could come up again and will need good thoughts/prayers.
Don't slam me to hard for this one, but those of you who believe in a God and prayer deep down in your soul/heart know what I mean when I say that she obviously still needs our prayers because she's not in a right spot.

As angry as I still am over this situation, I have to agree with you, Victoria still needs our prayers to get her heart and mind right! I still can't believe that someone so young could have taken us all for such a ride. If this is what kids are conjuring up these days, GOD help us!!

As Lynn and I were discussing, Jeff getting involved is probably the thing that saved us. I do think that Victoria and her friend were trying to perpetrate fraud against us, and not neccessarily against Jeff himself. When he got involved it started getting harder for them to cover their story. Things just weren't adding up. I don't know how it was finally figured out that this was all a hoax, but THANK YOU to whomever caught the scam before it went any further! And THANK YOU to Jeff for caring enough to get involved!

[Greg]

Thanks one & all for the support...it has been grating on me all night & even the sweet solace of knocking back a few doesn't help me forget this ridiculous event bestowed onto all of us. i do appreciate the many words & this will not change who I am regardless of the outcome....I still wish justice to be served on this person for bringing out the emotions I & we've all gone through the past days. Water under the bridge now I guess, back to reality folks, now I can start thinking about work again!!

Jeff,

All of us here have already said no need to apologize, but at least there are some positives that come out of this. Even though this was a false alarm, it is very refreshing to know that a group of fans, who are probably mostly "strangers" to one another can come together in the spirit of human nature, and show compassion for those who aren't close friends or family. This is something to be celebrated and admired. It sucks that people would stoop this low, but that is the world in which we live in nowadays.

[Clasicrockldy]

People who do things like this either learn this from their parent's examples ( ), or they learn it from someone else who has experience at doing this.

Jeff, as was said here by many, don't apologize. We all were duped. Don't let this change who you are.

[Skylorde]

Who is this so called friend,,,, Monker!???

Congratulations. Making an asinine statement like that, you've stooped as low, if not lower, than the scum who perpetrated this hoax.

Get the IP addresses and use ARIN to discover the ISP this asshole used. Give this information to the local district attorney and pressure them to serve warrants on the ISP to reveal the identity of the person and press charges against them.

[Playitloudforme]

I gave these pond scum sucking mother fuckers
my home info!!!!, to show good faith that I meant
Victoria no harm.

I almost did! I was going to see today if I could get the hospital/room number she was in to send some flowers.

Ya know LadyLuck.. I was that close to doing the same, as I live in LA, I figured on trying to do a personal stop by. Had the police not become involved, I would have become skeptical anyway NOT being successful in obtaining the hospital name, etc.... I learned long ago to believe it when I see it, but I was willing (as we most of us here) to give this the benefit of the doubt.

I'm impressed as all that this group binds together so quickly to the aid of one of our own.. THAT is pretty fricking cool. As far as the perpetrator(s)... the police are on it, they will do what they do best. Whether they did this for monetary gain or a sick need to mindfuck people, they are NOT well, and need some serious intervention. It might end up being Big Bubba if they drop some soap, but hey... Karma is a beautiful thing.

[jrnyfan86]

What the heck is going on here?

[Deb]

Forums being called "family" is something I don't understand.

That's too bad.

[larryfromnextdoor]

What the heck is going on here?

where have you been

[KCfla]

Forums being called "family" is something I don't understand.

That's too bad.

Isn't it just Strungout?

Look- Mindfreak--
It's called compassion.
It's called caring.
It's what being "human" is all about.

[~Sherrie~]

I gave these pond scum sucking mother fuckers
my home info!!!!, to show good faith that I meant
Victoria no harm.
We have no money so go ahead and put our ass's deeper
in debt, my thoughts are for myself when I tell my
husband about this., not to mention the safety of
my family.
He is gonna have the biggest wing-ding on my head.
I wanted folks to know how stupid I was so maybe
we will all be a bit more cautious if a situation like this
ever arises again.
Thanks for giving us the news Sir Soto, I'm sorry your
heart was dragged through this as well but it doesn't
change my thoughts on what a caring, helpful man
you really are.

Moon, they have my cell phone number from the times I called her cell and left her voice mail messages and texted her. But, I have more info about her than she does about me so I'm not too worried. Don't you worry either

[ohsherrie]

Holy shit, I got an email about this but didn't have time to read through this whole thread until now.

I know this is going to make me sound terribly jaded, but I'm really not surprised. I started having this little nagging doubt in the back of my mind when it all became so melodramatic. I've seen something like this before.

Anyone remember Stella's beautifully eulogized "death"? I know Monker does. I never bought into that completely either. There was no attempted extortion or anything else criminal about what Stella did though, and I'm not sure I believe there was here either. I seems to be more about just jerking people around and watching the results of it play out.

Jeff, I'm sorry you were taken in by this. That you took it so personally shows what a kind, compassionate man you are. Please don't let this bullshit sour you on the messageboards. We're mostly nice people, I promise.


Oh, and about Monker, he may be an obnoxious asshole but there's not a more honest and basically decent person on any messageboard.

[Melissa]

Well in the end I'm certainly glad this wasn't true, if it had truly happened, how horrifying. But I experienced a hoax like this on a pregnancy message board once, so to be 100% honest, I was skeptical at first (& felt guilty for that, in case it was true). And it progressed to the "friend" asking for money for the person "attacked", & people fell for it 100%, & in the end got burned big time when it came out as a hoax.

It's awful the emotion people on Jeff's site, here on MR, & Jeff himself, have all been put through because of some total ass wipes. I say that plural because I find it hard to believe the person "attacked" knew nothing about this, esp. as a "moderator" on the very site the thread was started on.

[ohsherrie]

Well in the end I'm certainly glad this wasn't true, if it had truly happened, how horrifying. But I experienced a hoax like this on a pregnancy message board once, so to be 100% honest, I was skeptical at first (& felt guilty for that, in case it was true). And it progressed to the "friend" asking for money for the person "attacked", & people fell for it 100%, & in the end got burned big time when it came out as a hoax.

It's awful the emotion people on Jeff's site, here on MR, & Jeff himself, have all been put through because of some total ass wipes. I say that plural because I find it hard to believe the person "attacked" knew nothing about this, esp. as a "moderator" on the very site the thread was started on.

Oh she knew Melissa, count on it. If she's a moderator of the board how could she not have known about it? I hope this wasn't heading toward extortion, but hell, it's only too sadly possible.

[bluejeangirl76]

You know, one of the worst things about this is that it's a like a big cry of "Wolf!"

Someday, someone may be in trouble, or hurt, or need help for real.
God forbid, but things do happen and if something did, then it would be "well they got us last time, not falling for THAT shit again."

Some people just plain SUCK.

[****]

......... Second of all, yes, Victoria was involved in the hoax too.
Nothing more to be said. Teri

Thanks for clearing that up. It was puzzling me.
What I can't understand is.....WHY????

I think that the attention and sympathy were a big part of it. We were all calling, and emailing, and texting constantly to make sure she was ok. Then obviously they knew that we would all want to send something. Flowers, CD's, etc. He (the person that started this) even asked for a necklace that she has always wanted but then said she was a very modest person and didn't like expensive things. This person knew that people were planning care packages, and shit like that. Thats what I think it was for - it was all about the attention and the gifts / money. I had already bought books, a few CD's, and shit ready to send to her, it just needed to be wrapped.

But in all honesty, I would do it again. I would pray, and be concerned, and want updates on a person that I thought went thru this. I am much more impressed with the generosity of the people on MR, JSS Forums and the Annex. And is what I will take away from this - how thoroughly fortunate I feel to be apart of this group of caring individuals.