um no you didnt even define the hoax.
the hoax is that there was no money lost at all.
the 2 teens, the little girl, and the parents are all playing the game to get donations.
it happens all the time there is a national news story about some kid's death or some other sob story.
people just send 10s of thousands of dollars to them.
i could fake something and get found out as a fraud and it would still be legal for me to keep the money.