HOUSTON, TEXAS: Janie Santana, the mother of Rudy Farias, the 25-year-old Texas man who was found alive after being reported "missing," allegedly used fake profiles other people's appearance to present herself as popular and better looking on social media, a local activist named "Grizzy" told the New York Post. The allegation comes after it was revealed that Santana allegedly hid her son at home for eight years while lying to authorities, investigators and even their own family members.
On Friday, July 7, several people who interacted with Santana online alleged that the woman had a collection of fake Facebook profiles that she allegedly used to scam people online. She is accused of stealing online photos from others to use it as her own profile picture, including photos of a blonde-haired, blue-eyed aspiring country singer as recently as Wednesday, July 5, before it was changed, the New York Post reported.
What is known about Grizzy?
Grizzy is a local activist who is accusing Santana of being a internet "catfish" for stealing other people's photos and using it on her own fake social media profiles. “She created a family of catfish profiles to support her posts because nobody likes her stuff or comments back, so she’s created a lot of fake profiles to circle her. She’s using it for love, for personal gain, for money — whatever she needs it for. She’s a very calculating person," the activist said.
Grizzy said Santana first contacted her after Farias was found on June 29, saying that she was getting negative remarks on social media. The activist said she and Santana allegedly spoke for hours since that day. "The first thing she tells me [is], 'I see a lot of people talking sh*t about me on your page,'" Grizzy recalled. "I thought it was odd that that’s the first thing she tells me, instead of, 'My son is hurting. He’s at the hospital.' She was more worried about how the media perceived her," she stated.
"She thought with me, that I would tell everybody to lay off of her," the activist mentioned. Grizzy reportedly has more than 561,000 followers on Facebook. She is one of the local activists and community members who are now calling for officials to bring legal charges against Santana.
'She was very worried about being on camera'
Speaking to The New York Post, Grizzy shared that she met Santana in person at the hospital where Farias was reportedly medical treatment on Wednesday, July 5, before Santana’s meeting with police. However, she claimed that Santana was worried over how her in-person appearance differed from the way she presented her appearance online.
"She said, 'I'm worried. There are a bunch of cameras. I don’t want them recording me,'" Grizzy said. "She was very worried about being on camera because she’s posting pictures of herself that are not hers," she stated. The activist soon began suspecting that much of what Santana told her were possibly false. In addition to gaining followers using fake profile photos, Santana also made over $2,000 in GoFundMe donations in connection to Farias’ disappearance, Newsweek reported.
