The family of the young Cuban Lester Domínguez, who remains in a wheelchair after receiving a machete blow during an assault in 2023, has raised concerns about a possible fraud related to the alleged humanitarian visa with which he hoped to travel to the United States for surgery.
The complaint also impacts the fundraising efforts promoted to help the young man. Both his father, Dennis Domínguez, and another relative, Orion Cheo, have publicly requested that no one continue sending money to the previously shared donation link.
The testimonies published by the family indicate that the possible deception may not be limited to the collection of money: the very existence or authenticity of the supposed humanitarian visa announced by Lester is now under suspicion.
How did the alleged deception begin?
Dennis Domínguez warned on Facebook on August 4 that the family was beginning to suspect a possible fraud.
According to the explanation, a woman identified as Loraine allegedly contacted Lester and, initially, told him that she wanted to give him a phone as a gift.
Later on, still according to the father's version, the woman informed the young man that instead of the phone, she had obtained for him a humanitarian visa to travel to the United States.
Dennis assured that the woman introduced herself as a lawyer and follower of the humanitarian activist Noly Blak. The father also stated that there had been discussions about a passport and a possible trip to Guyana as part of the process.
Lester apparently believed that the procedure was genuine. According to Dennis, when he asked for information, his son assured him that everything was safe, although he did not provide enough details.
Faced with the hope that he could finally travel to receive medical treatment, his own father began to help spread the word and reached out to several individuals with a presence on social media to gather support for Lester.
However, Dennis reported that he later spoke via WhatsApp with Noly Blak, who expressed that the situation was confusing. From that moment on, the father began requesting those who were in contact with him to hold off before proceeding with any actions.
In that first publication on August 4, Dennis still appeared cautious and spoke of a possible scam. He also requested that, if it was indeed a fraud, the individuals involved be investigated.
The father also mentioned a second woman, identified as Daritza González, whom he described as a lawyer residing in Havana and who, according to his account, had requested information about a bank account. Dennis did not specify in his post what the relationship between this person and the woman identified as Loraine would be.
The father insists that Lester was deceived
Two days later, on August 6, Dennis posted a second message in which he spoke directly about a deception against his son and accused the woman identified as Loraine of taking advantage of the young man's desperate medical situation.
According to his father, Lester had placed his hopes on the supposed humanitarian visa because it would allow him to travel to the United States and seek a surgical solution for the serious consequences he has been facing since 2023.
“Now the boy is shattered,” Dennis said as he described the impact that discovering his hope of traveling for surgery might be based on false information would have had on Lester.
The father also apologized to the people who had contributed money thinking they were helping the young man.
"We apologize for the scam that was inflicted on Lester's supporters, who were looking to improve the child's health, which continues to deteriorate, leaving his self-esteem in the ground," he expressed.
Dennis also explained that Lester is temporarily staying at his aunt's house in Holguín, as he has better conditions there than in San Germán.
"It pains me that during that time with the child, I was distant," he acknowledged.
He also explicitly requested that no one continue to contribute money and stated that he has received information from individuals who claim to have recovered their donations.
"I hope no one else donates halfway, and I was told that there are people who have recovered their money," she stated.
Lester also requested to stop the donations
The family's alert coincides with the doubts expressed by Lester himself.
Orion Cheo, a relative of the young man, shared a video on Facebook in which Lester requested that the fundraising link not be further circulated.
“It seems that I am falling victim to a scam. I don't have anything definite, I don't have proof, but everything is a bit confusing, and I ask you kindly not to share the link to the donation account that I posted a few days ago,” explained Lester.
The young man's statement is particularly relevant because it acknowledges that he did not yet have conclusive evidence of the alleged fraud, although the circumstances had raised enough suspicions to request the suspension of the donations.
Later, Orion Cheo was more emphatic in a Facebook post.
“Please, do not donate money to the link that is posted for Lester, it is a scam. Call your banks and report it; my sister also had her money returned”, she wrote.
Orion himself clarified, however, that he was not completely certain about what had happened: “I wrote to the page, this is the response I have; I’m not sure of anything either.”
The shared screenshots alongside that post show transactions of 80, 100, 320, and 1,500 dollars related to the project "Help for young Lester Dominguez," as well as messages indicating that these amounts would be reimbursed within a timeframe of up to five business days.
For now, the testimonies from the family do not allow us to determine with certainty who created or controlled the fundraising, how much money was received, nor the exact relationship between the individuals mentioned and the campaign.
The supposed visa had restored hope to Lester
The complaint represents a serious setback for Lester, whose family has been trying for years to find a solution for the severe consequences he suffers from.
On March 21, 2023, when he was 16 years old, Lester was attacked with a machete in San Germán to steal a Huawei phone.
The attack resulted in an incomplete C5 spinal cord injury, leaving him in a wheelchair. During his lengthy medical process, he also suffered complications that included mechanical ventilation, tracheostomy, pressure sores, and pneumonia.
In August 2025, his family reported that doctors had confirmed the possibility of a surgery to correct the issue with his vertebrae, but the operation never took place in Cuba.
On August 2nd, Lester publicly announced that he had supposedly obtained an emergency humanitarian visa and sought financial help to travel and undergo surgery in the United States.
Two days later, CiberCuba reported on the funds raised to help the young man, which had garnered a strong response of solidarity.
The new allegations from Lester and his family now cast doubt on both the circumstances of the alleged humanitarian visa and the fundraising related to the case.
So far, the information shared by the family does not allow for independent confirmation of all the details of the alleged fraud nor to determine responsibilities. For this reason, Lester and his relatives have requested that no new donations be made through the link previously shared while they seek to clarify what happened.
For Lester, the episode also represents another emotional blow after more than three years of fighting to regain his health and finding a medical alternative outside of Cuba that would allow him to improve his quality of life.
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