KANSAS CITY, Mo. — E2 Embroidery and Screen Printing has raised nearly $380,000 for the family of fallen Kansas City, Missouri, firefighter paramedic Graham Hoffman, but as sales continues to grow, so do concerns about other individuals and businesses profiting from his death.
E2 Embroidery employees are busy preparing, packing, and fulfilling orders for the fundraiser.
“Around 40,000 total items sold and printed," said Brianna Hertzog, director of operations. "Could be more."
Since the fundraiser began, orders have been placed from all 50 states and 11 countries.
Hertzog noted the outreach of the cause has gained momentum across various social media platforms, including Instagram, TikTok, and X.
However, some businesses are selling their own versions of merchandise that are supposed to honor Hoffman. It's not clear sales proceeds from those shirts will help his family.
"It looks exactly like what we’re doing, and it pretty much is the same exact shirt,” Hertzog said. “But the only difference is that our left chest has everything that is honoring him, and those shirts aren’t actually honoring him.”
One of the most notable is Aurathreads, a brand that gained popularity on TikTok.
Aurathreads reportedly sold over 100 shirts as of Wednesday morning. The company released commercials featuring models wearing the merchandise.
“A lot of people, unfortunately, have been reaching out to us, confirming if we’re real because there’s been so many scams,” Hertzog said.
The issue is further complicated by the lack of guarantees that supporters will even get their purchased shirts. Several negative reviews have emerged regarding the integrity of these businesses.
In response, E2 Embroidery is taking steps to address the situation.
“They say that it’s not against all community guidelines," said Hertzog. "To us, it’s fraud and it’s stealing, and it’s taking away from a family that we’re trying to help out. But to them, it’s just another person using their website to promote them. It’s just unfortunate, but we’re trying our best to hit the head on all of it.”
KSHB reporter La'Nita Brooks attempted to contact Aurathreads through TikTok without any response. She also was blocked.
At the time of this story, no alternative contact information for the company has been found.
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KSHB 41 reporter La’Nita Brooks covers stories providing solutions and offering discussions on topics of crime and violence. Share your story idea with La’Nita.
