Diogo Jota Foundation website taken down after £50k donations and no link to Liverpool

A website claiming to be a foundation set up in memory of Diogo Jota has been taken down amid allegations that it has no affiliation with his family or Liverpool. The footballer and his brother tragically lost their lives in a car crash in July, mere days after Jota tied the knot with his long-term partner Rute Cardoso.

The Diogo Jota Foundation had been soliciting donations via the website diogojotafoundation.org, established three days after his death, and purportedly raised £47,715 by August 21. A privacy screen from 'namecheaphosting' appears when one attempts to search for the domain name.

It is understood that the site has no connection with Liverpool or Jota's family. Liverpool informed the Telegraph that neither the club nor the family have any knowledge about the foundation or its website.

As of the morning of August 22, the website seems to have been deactivated, with users being redirected to a domain hosting site instead.

The Charity Commission has also verified that the foundation has not lodged a registration application. Despite featuring logos for Unicef, Allianz and the Portuguese Platform of Development NGOs, at least three out of the four have confirmed they are not in collaboration with the foundation.

Last month, Liverpool confirmed that their separate LFC Foundation is "committed to creating a grass-roots football programme in Diogo's name". The club also stated: "If supporters would like to honour Diogo by having 'Diogo J. 20' printed on the back of their shirt in official club stores or via our official online store, all profits will go to LFC Foundation."

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Allianz UK issued a statement saying: "We can confirm that we do not have a partnership, and our logo should not have been used on this website. We monitor illegal use of our brand and we are taking steps to get the website shut down by the suitable authorities. Misuse of branding is an ongoing issue in the digital world, and fraudsters will often try to add recognised brands to their fake websites to try and deceive the public."

The website encourages users to donate through an off-site platform that seems to only accept cryptocurrency, stating that it "accepts USDT, ETH and other crypto through NOWPayments securely."

However, NOWPayments CEO Kate Lifshits has said that they have not processed any payments to the foundation. "We are aware that the NOWPayments payment system may have been used for fraudulent fundraising activities on behalf of a foundation that is not affiliated with the Diogo Jota family," Lifshits stated.

"I can confirm that no payments for this foundation have been processed through NOWPayments. As soon as we became aware of the alleged fraud, we stopped providing our services to the project immediately. Our widget is not active on the foundation's website. We often encounter such practices and respond immediately, regardless of whether they involve public figures."

Moreover, the Fundraising Regulator has cautioned: "In the wake of tragedies and natural disasters, there are always some who seek to capitalise on the British public's generosity and sympathy.

"While most charity appeals are genuine, the regulator always advises the public to exercise caution when considering making a donation to ensure that their money goes to where it is needed, and where they wish it to go.

"Generally speaking, the Fundraising Regulator would not recommend donating to a foundation which is not a registered charity, as there is a high risk of fraud. People should additionally watch for warning signs that an online appeal may be fraudulent, such as vague or inconsistent information on the website, grammar or spelling errors, or a lack of information about the organisation from any other source."