What did Congressman Andy Ogles do with nearly $25,000 meant for child burial garden? He won't say

yuna628 · March 16, 2023

What is going on down there in Tennessee? 😲

Congressman with a questionable background resume, grifts money two days after the death of his child for a public children's burial ground, and then keeps it. Eight years pass, and people are asking questions.

Quote

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — What did Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogles do with tens of thousands of dollars meant for a children's burial garden?

Now, NewsChannel 5 Investigates has uncovered more questions that the freshman Republican won't answer.

It's a story that goes far beyond questions about Ogles' inflated resume. It's a story that stems from a personal tragedy — the stillborn death of a child whose photo Ogles sometimes posts on his political social media — and a GoFundMe that allowed Ogles to rake in tens of thousands of dollars for what was supposed to be a children's burial garden.

Yet, what makes it a story is the fact that there is no burial garden, no one knows where their donations went, and Ogles refuses to say what he did with the money.

{..}

But the story that NewsChannel 5 Investigates heard repeatedly was how two days after the loss of the child in 2014, Ogles himself used a photo of his stillborn baby for a GoFundMe for something he called "Lincoln's Place."

It implored: "Help us help other families. No family should have to bury their child; no child should be alone."

{..}

It promised a "burial garden" that would "create a place for Lincoln's new play friends," "a life-size statue of Jesus watching over the children," along with "benches for families to sit while surrounded by flowers."

And people responded to Ogles' emotional plea, donating almost $25,000.

GoFundMe confirms Ogles got the money.

One of the donors told NewsChannel 5 Investigates that she wanted "to believe that that money went for something good," but Ogles' other challenges with the truth left her with "gnawing questions about what happened to these funds."

Of course, this would not be a story if the future congressman had taken the money and used it as promised, or at least used it for a good cause.

But in the cemetery where Lincoln is buried, we checked from one corner to another.

And just like the tipsters had feared, there is no children's burial garden, no benches where families can sit, and no life-size statue of Jesus.

{..}

Eight years later, Stephens now tells NewsChannel 5 Investigates that Ogles never followed through.