The profile of the late ITV News journalist Gary Burgess has been used by fraudsters to promote an online cryptocurrency scam, as his widower slammed the criminals for their ‘violating’ action.
Burgess’ headshot and fabricated quotes have been used in an advert encouraging people to invest money in the scheme, which promises large returns.
The journalist, who lived in Jersey, was first diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1999, but despite undergoing treatment the illness eventually spread to his chest and lungs.
He passed away on New Year’s Day in 2022, aged 46.
Now two years on, Burgess’ face appears on an advert with a fake positive review claiming that he made more than £8,7000 on a crypto trading platform.
The profile of the late ITV News journalist Gary Burgess has been used by fraudsters to promote an online cryptocurrency scam, two years after his death from cancer
Burgess’ face appears on an advert with a fake positive review claiming that he made more than £8,7000 on a crypto trading platform
Burgess told fans that he had six to twelve months left to live in November 2020 and documented his cancer journey on his blog after receiving the terminal diagnosis
The advert claims he says: ‘I’ve only used it for a couple of weeks and I’ve already made more money from it than I do busting my butt off at work for months!’
Cryptocurrency is a digital form of currency that is not controlled by a central authority, such as a bank or government, and remains largely unregulated.
Burgess’ widower, Alan, was distressed that the late journalist’s profile had been used in this way.
He told ITV News: ‘It’s horrible, it feels violating, I’m just angry.
‘The fact that someone would do this, knowing or not the fact that Gary has died, to used the image in this way and take advantage of the goodwill Gary had from the people of Jersey is infuriating.’
The profile of Bailiff Sir Timothy Le Cocq, head of Jersey’s Judiciary, was also fraudulently used in the scam campaign.
Matt Palmer, director of Jersey’s Cyber Security Centre warned that scammers will use well-known or distinguished personalities in this way to convince people their scheme is above board.
He said: ‘These things are happening all the time, we have an increasing number of these types of frauds and they’re becoming more sophisticated.’
Burgess, who over his career also wrote a column for the Jersey Evening Post and hosted the local radio station Channel 103, died peacefully in his sleep on January 1, 2022 at a hospice in Jersey.
Burgess’ widower, Alan, was distressed that the late journalist’s profile had been used in this way and described it as ‘violating’
The advert was promoting investment in cryptocurrency, a digital form of currency that is not controlled by a central authority, such as a bank or government, and which remains largely unregulated
Doctors had found tumours on his lungs and told him they were inoperable.
Burgess told fans that he had six to twelve months left to live in November 2020 and documented his cancer journey on his blog after receiving the terminal diagnosis.
In a final message released by ITV following the news of his death, Burgess praised his ‘soul mate’ Alan and said he had ‘great sadness’ at the prospect of leaving his friends and family behind.
He said: ‘I’ve had the best life. I’ve had the luckiest life. I met my soul mate and the love of my life who went on to become my husband.
‘I got to work with some of the most amazing people in newsrooms and studios doing the job I absolutely adore.
‘And I’ve been able to share my own relatively short time on this planet surrounded by friends and loved ones who have enriched my life in ways they may never truly understand.
‘My greatest sadness is the prospect of leaving all of that and all of them behind.
‘The thought of doing that to Alan is unfathomable to process, but I also know the very people who’ve shown me love and support will now wrap up those feelings around him in the coming days.
‘It’s time for me to hand over my microphone and keyboard for others to do the talking about me, so let my final words simply be ‘thank you’.
‘Every person in my life has, in their own way, helped me live my best life. That’ll do.’
This news is republished from another source. You can check the original article here
