IREDELL COUNTY, N.C. — An Iredell County woman accused of scamming numerous businesses and individuals out of charitable donations for a phony event called "LKN Fest" was arrested in Arizona, Iredell County deputies said.
The Iredell County Sheriff's Office received a report from someone who said she'd been scammed out of a charitable donation in July 2022. The victim's mother said she met Tammy Ann Domenick online and started what she thought was a friendship. The woman alleged that Domenick presented herself as a marketing professional from the New York City area.
The victim's mother told deputies that Domenick offered to start up a fundraising campaign to help her daughter, who has a life-threatening terminal illness. Domenick's supposed plan, according to deputies, was to promote a major event called "LKN Fest" on social media with the goal of attracting sponsors and collecting donations to raise the money. The plan would start with "Sip n' Shop" events throughout the Mooresville area to promote LKN Fest.
Detectives interviewed several sponsors who signed up to support the event, with all of the businesses saying the promotions were failures. Business owners said they donated money, jewelry, clothes, photo booths, health products and food to support the cause Domenick claimed to raise the money for, according to deputies.
When LKN Fest never materialized, detectives learned each business had promissory contracts from Domenick that stated the event would be sold out due to attention from social media and billboards. None of this happened and business owners said they never received any financial return on their investment. The victim's family never received the donation money from Domenick as promised, either, according to the sheriff's office. Iredell County investigators say a total of $29,174.99 remains unaccounted for.
When Iredell County detectives contacted Domenick, she said she was no longer in North Carolina and was in California. Detectives later learned Domenick shut down all of her social media business pages and was operating in Arizona through a company that directly mirrored what she'd done in North Carolina.
Domenick was charged with six counts of felony obtaining property by false pretenses and she was entered as a wanted person. Domenick was taken into custody in Mesa, Arizona, and is currently fighting extradition back to North Carolina on those felony charges.