The family of young Cuban Lester Domínguez, who remains in a wheelchair after receiving a machete wound during an assault in 2023, raised concerns about a suspected fraud related to the alleged humanitarian visa he was hoping to use to travel to the United States for surgery.
The complaint also impacts the fundraising efforts spread 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 fundraising: 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 alerted on Facebook on August 4 that the family was beginning to suspect potential fraud.
According to the explanation, a woman identified as Loraine reportedly contacted Lester and initially told him that she wanted to give him a phone.
Subsequently, 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 claimed that the woman introduced herself as a lawyer and a supporter of the humanitarian activist Noly Blak. The father also stated that there was talk of a passport and a possible trip to Guyana as part of the process.
Lester apparently believed that the procedure was real. According to Dennis, when he asked for information, his son assured him that everything was safe, although he didn't provide enough details.
In the hope that he could finally travel to receive medical treatment, his own father began helping to spread the news and contacted several people with a presence on social media to gather support for Lester.
However, Dennis reported that he later chatted on WhatsApp with Noly Blak, who expressed that the situation was confusing. From that moment on, the father began asking those who contacted him to wait before proceeding with the arrangements.
In that first post on August 4, Dennis was still being cautious and spoke of a possible scam. He also requested that, if it was indeed fraud, the individuals involved should 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, allegedly requested information about a bank account. Dennis did not clarify in his post what the relationship between this person and the woman identified as Loraine would be.
The father claims that Lester was deceived
Two days later, on August 6, Dennis posted a second message in which he directly spoke of 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 the father, Lester had pinned his hopes on the supposed humanitarian visa because it would allow him to travel to the United States and seek surgical solutions for the severe consequences he has been dealing with since 2023.
“Now the boy is devastated,” Dennis expressed while describing the impact it would have had on Lester to discover that his hope of traveling for surgery could be based on false information.
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 perpetrated against Lester's followers, who were looking to improve the child's health, which continues to deteriorate, leaving his self-esteem at rock bottom," 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.
"I feel pained that during that process with the child, I was distant," he acknowledged.
He also explicitly requested that no one continues to contribute money and claimed to have received information from individuals who have managed to recover their donations.
"I hope no one else donates a dime, and I was told that there are people who have gotten their money back," he stated.
Lester also requested to halt the donations
The family's concerns coincide 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 link to the fundraising not be further circulated.
“It seems that I am falling victim to a scam. I have no certainty, I have no proof, but everything is a bit confusing and I come to ask you the favor of not sharing any further the link to the donation account that I posted a few days ago,” Lester explained.
The young man's statement is particularly relevant because he acknowledges that he did not yet have conclusive evidence of the alleged fraud, although the circumstances had raised enough suspicions to request the cessation of donations.
Later, Orion Cheo was more emphatic in a Facebook post.
“Please do not donate money to the link that has been posted for Lester, it is a scam. Call your banks and report it; my sister also got her money back”, she wrote.
Orion himself clarified, however, that he was not fully certain about what had happened: “I wrote to the page, this is the response I have; I also have no certainty about anything.”
The screenshots shared 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 period of up to five business days.
At this time, the testimonies from the family do not allow us to ascertain with certainty who created or controlled the fundraising, how much money was received, or the exact relationship between the individuals mentioned and the campaign.
The supposed visa had restored hope to Lester
The complaint represents a significant 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 caused him an incomplete C5 spinal cord injury and left him in a wheelchair. During his long medical journey, he also suffered complications including mechanical ventilation, tracheostomy, pressure ulcers, and pneumonia.
In August 2025, his family reported that doctors had confirmed the possibility of a procedure to correct the issue with his vertebrae, but the surgery did not take place in Cuba.
On August 2nd, Lester publicly announced that he had allegedly obtained an urgent humanitarian visa and requested financial assistance to travel and undergo surgery in the United States.
Two days later, CiberCuba reported on the fundraising effort aimed at helping the young man, which had sparked a wide display 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 or determination of responsibility. For this reason, Lester and his relatives have requested that no new donations be made through the link previously circulated while they attempt to clarify what has happened.
For Lester, the episode also represents another emotional blow after more than three years of fighting to regain his health and find a medical alternative outside of Cuba that would improve his quality of life.
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