Rock'n Our Disabilities Foundation, the Apple Valley nonprofit that serves hundreds of High Desert families, has issued a scam alert after people with no connection to the organization began requesting payment for vendor spots at its upcoming Pumpkin Patch & Fall Festival. CEO and founder Dana Hernandez said the fraudulent fund requests were tied to the event, which is scheduled for October 2026 at The Market @ Town's End.
Hernandez told the Victorville Daily Press that unidentified and unauthorized individuals had been requesting funds on behalf of the foundation, with people not affiliated with the organization claiming they had vendor spots available for the fall festival and asking prospective vendors to pay them directly. The scheme surfaced as the nonprofit was actively promoting its own vendor recruitment for the multi-day event, which runs throughout October and kicks off with a car show, according to a Facebook post from the organization.
What Real Vendor Booths Actually Cost
The foundation's official vendor pricing for the festival ranges from $25 for non-profit booths up to $600 for multi-day food truck spots, per the same Facebook posting. Those legitimate rates stand in stark contrast to the unauthorized fee solicitations Hernandez says have circulated around the event, underscoring why organizers are urging vendors to confirm booking details only through the foundation's verified channels rather than responding to unsolicited messages.
The timing lines up with a period of visibility for the organization. In late August, Rock'n Our Disabilities Foundation announced it was expanding to a new facility in Apple Valley while keeping its adaptive recreational programs running in nearby Hesperia, a move that appears to have raised the group's public profile right as scammers began circling its festival vendor list.
A Nonprofit Built From Personal Experience
Hernandez founded the organization in 2018 after struggling to find local community support for her two special-needs adult children, including her daughter Deja, according to Bold Journey Magazine. She had previously worked as an events coordinator for the Hesperia Chamber of Commerce before launching the foundation, which now offers sports, social outings, and mentoring for families facing physical and intellectual disabilities.
The nonprofit lists 10 official staff members and instructors serving more than 500 registered High Desert families, according to Cause IQ. The 501(c)(3) funds adaptive sports, life-skills workshops, and weekly food distribution, and it has a track record of drawing large crowds to public events in Apple Valley, including its 6th Annual Dash for disABILITIES Superhero 5K, Walk & Roll held at the Apple Valley Civic Center this past April.
How These Vendor Scams Typically Work
The fraud pattern described by Hernandez echoes a broader scheme documented by consumer watchdogs nationally. Scammers often advertise events and contact prospective vendors, according to a Better Business Bureau warning, and they frequently request fees through peer-to-peer payment apps using friends-and-family modes that skip buyer protections and leave the transactions non-refundable.
The scale of the problem is significant. The Federal Trade Commission logged nearly 50,000 fraud complaints tied to digital payment apps in 2022, totaling roughly $125 million in losses, per the Odessa American. A separate BBB Risk Report found that 32% of fraud victims who lost money in 2021 had sent it through online payment apps, with a median loss of $200 per incident. According to the Federal Trade Commission, its 2024 Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book aggregates consumer reports about fraud, identity theft and other consumer-protection problems. According to the Federal Trade Commission, consumers in 2024 reported losing more money to scams paid by bank transfer or cryptocurrency than to scams involving all other payment methods.
Potential Legal Exposure for Scammers
The potential legal consequences of the alleged conduct would depend on the facts of any case, including the charges filed and the proof required.
The article does not establish whether the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office runs a Consumer Protection Unit or what role it might play in investigating and prosecuting false advertising, deceptive business practices, and fraudulent schemes targeting county residents. The article also does not establish whether victims of online scams in San Bernardino County can report incidents to local law enforcement or the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center. It remains unclear whether any local vendors lost money they could not recover before the scam alert went out, or whether law enforcement has opened a formal investigation into the accounts responsible for the fraudulent requests.
