Mum's attempt to name and shame son's drug dealers on Facebook backfires
A mother's attempt to name and shame a drug dealer who she thought was "ripping off" her son has dramatically backfired.
Lisa Maree Moynihan, 35, was left "frustrated" after her son paid $150 for cannabis, but never received the drugs.
The mother, from Blenheim, New Zealand, slammed the alleged scammers in a Facebook post in a bid to bring "public shame" for one woman until her son was handed a refund.
She shared several screenshots of messages sent between two alleged dealers that showed a conversation of a potential scam, The Marlborough Express reported.
"I can rip someone off bro 150???" one message read.
Moynihan's August Facebook post had alleged three people were "setting up your teens to be robbed", and received significant attention online, with over 100 shares.
According to police, the woman mentioned in the post was too upset to go to work, fearing people would confront her and she would ultimately lose her job.
This led to Moynihan facing a police charge of causing harm by posting a digital communication, under the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015.
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She admitted the charge and appeared for sentencing at Blenheim District Court on Monday.
Her lawyer John Holdaway said Moynihan was upset and frustrated about her son being "ripped off" after she had made several attempts to retrieve the money.
But Judge David Ruth reiterated the new legislation was supposed to prevent people from hurting others on social media, which was "impersonal and cowardly".
Moynihan was sentenced to 80 hours of community work.
