Berlina Arreola continues to visit an impromptu shrine of a tragedy that struck her family personally.

A gunman shot and killed her granddaughter, Amerie Jo Garza, 18 other Robb Elementary School students, and two teachers on May 24 in Uvalde, Texas.

"It's getting harder and harder as the days go by missing our loved ones," Arreola said. "I mean, I miss Amerie dearly."

The road ahead is still tough for families.

Jessie Rodriguez's daughter, Annabell, was another victim.

"The last time I talked to her, I was waiting for a big job to come in so I could pick her up and go shopping, you know," Rodriguez said. "She took my phone and said, 'Let's do a selfie daddy.'"

Rodriguez, who is self-employed, finds it hard to motivate himself to get back to work.

"It kills me every day, you know?" Rodriguez said. "I mean, I'm not the man I was, just not the same."

Victims' families have needs, whether they be emotional, medical, or financial.

State Sen. Roland Gutierrez says strangers have opened their pocketbooks to Uvalde, donating nearly $14 million to date.

"We saw already there are initial efforts, but we want to be able to get an idea of when families are going to get disbursements," Sen. Gutierrez said. "I'm bringing in some folks that are going to advocate for them to maximize those funds as best we can."

He said he's learned lessons from past relief efforts after mass shootings, like the Sutherland Springs church attack in 2017.

"I hope that we can get these organizations, these funds, that have been collected, people that are running these organizations, to understand that we need to be able to do at least try to change the lives of these parents," Sen. Gutierrez said.

The tragedy struck an already vulnerable community. Census data says close to 25% of people in the county are uninsured. Much live pay check to pay check, and paying for medical bills for survivors is simply a bridge too far. That's where these funds fit in.

"In 2012 after the Aurora theater shooting, survivors of that event came to us at the National Center for Victims of Crime and said that they didn't like how their fund was being administered, and they asked us to set up a new fund for them," Jeff Dion, executive director of the National Compassion Fund, said.

The National Compassion Fund, or NCF, is a group founded after a gunman murdered 12 and injured 70 in the Aurora, Colorado theater shooting almost 10 years ago.

One of those victims was Micayla Medek. When donations did not reach families in need, her cousin was moved to action.

"The first $200,000 went to 10 area nonprofits, and we found out that they were a victim relief fund; [it] was not actually going to go directly to the victims," Anita Busch with Victims First said. "We had kids with brain injuries and no insurance, and we have 12 people to bury."

Busch works alongside the NCF. The foundation says its role is to make sure victims and survivors get direct assistance from every dollar donated.

"But nobody really is planning for donation management, and we know that this happens just about every time," Dion said.

The foundation has overseen collection efforts for 23 mass casualty events and helped disburse more than $100 million.

"So we had to get up off our knees in grief and fight so that the donations would actually get to the victims," Busch said.

These echos the sentiment Arreola has — that there is no price tag on bringing back loved ones.

"The bills don't stop... for a broken, unfortunately," Arreola said.

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CINCINNATI —

A former Cincinnati mayoral candidate is facing federal charges in a pandemic relief fraud scheme.

Investigators said Kelli Prather received nearly $20,000 of the more than $600,000 in relief she applied for.

Federal investigators are warning people who are tempted to defraud the system that they are watching it closely.

They said Prather is part of their fourth round of fraud cases in our region.

"I'm not the career politician. I'm not the party favorite. I'm the person who represents the people," Kelli Prather said during a 2020 interview.

She was in the spotlight running for Hamilton County Commission in 2020.

Prather was more recently running for mayor of Cincinnati, a city plagued with federal corruption cases.

"The reason I decided to jump into the mayoral's race is because all of the problems that I have discussed in the past," Prather said during a 2021 interview about the race.

Now, she is accused by federal investigators of taking part in pandemic relief fraud.

"The program benefits were designed to provide a lifeline, to cover payroll. Instead, the funds are being used for something else entirely," Acting U.S. Attorney Vipal Patel said.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Prather applied for six paycheck protection program loans claiming to own six businesses.

The feds started digging in September 2020, according to documents WLWT reviewed, and they found the businesses did not appear operational.

They said Prather wanted more than $600,000 in relief funds and fraudulently received nearly $20,000.

Officials said Fifth Third Bank found discrepancies and declined to fund more.

Documents show one of Prather's loan applications listed one employee who made $19,862 a month, but supporting documentation showed only $1,500 a year in income.

"The charged defendants used these funds in various ways, but there was a lot of personal use going on," Patel said.

Investigators allege Prather pocketed money and used it at salons and restaurants.

Some of the purchases outlined in the federal complaint documents include stops at Dollar General, City Gear, Kroger and Juicy Crab.

The documents show Prather claimed her businesses were legitimate, but that she admitted some expenses were personal.

Federal officials warn that they are watching these programs closely.

"If they don't stop, they continue on, we're going to come knocking," Patel said.

Prather faces charges including bank fraud, aggravated identity theft and making false statements.

She declined to comment.

Three other people from our area were also charged in separate pandemic relief fraud schemes.

Federal officials said Toni Wright, 34, from Cincinnati, allegedly received $349,000 in fraudulent PPP relief loans.

They said she made false statements at the purported sole owner of Poshedbar, a hair and nail salon, Beautiful Beginnings Doula Service and Jerry's Electronics.

Investigators said Wright used the money for restaurants, purchases at Michael Kors, Louis Vuitton, Kay Jewelers and for vacations.

They also said Wright spent more than $10,000 at Sono Bello, a facility that advertises laser liposuction and body contouring.

Wright faces charges including bank fraud, wire fraud, making false statements and false representation of a social security number.

Officials said Melissa McGhee, 37, from Cincinnati, allegedly received $186,000 in fraudulent relief funds, which she used, in part, to purchase real estate.

Investigators said she allegedly lied about an FHA loan for a new home.

They said she applied for seven different pandemic relief loans and received three.

According to investigators, McGhee used the business names M&MM Realty Group and M&M Realty Group to submit fraudulent applications.

She faces charges including bank fraud, committing fraud in connection with a major disaster or emergency benefits and wire fraud.

Federal officials said Jon Alan Bader, 50, from Dayton, allegedly received more than $120,000 in fraudulent pandemic relief funds by lying on applications.

They said he registered the business, JB Auto Wholesale, LLC, with the state of Ohio in June 2020, after the cutoff eligibility date for the loans.

Investigators said he spent the relief money on Door Dash, Uber, apparel at Puma, Lacoste and Saks, and travel.

He faces charges including bank fraud, wire fraud and making false statements.