Former Cabazon wedding photographers accused of conspiracy in Georgia

A former Cabazon couple is facing conspiracy charges, accused of raising money on an online website for a sick child authorities say wasn’t sick at all.

News Channel 3 contacted 25 couples around southern California in 2006 who said Joanessa Clawson and her husband James took their money, but failed to deliver on their wedding day photos or wedding albums.

The Clawsons had worked at the time as wedding photographers out of their Cabazon home.

Georgia police said Tuesday in Cobb County, the Clawsons and her mother Patti Ann Baldassarre are now facing conspiracy charges.

Police say the Clawsons used an online donation site, go-fund-me.com, to raise money for an extremely sick child at an Atlanta area hospital.

One apparent victim, Sandra May said, “And all of this was to help a friend in need. And there was never a friend.”

Some in the online community were suspicious of the Clawsons and tried to notify authorities up to a year ago.

“There were tons of red flags and there were tons of people in the community who reached out just for the sake of her kids and people being taken advantage of and nothing was done,” said May.

“There were various things, multi-stories that didn’t seem to add up,” said another apparent victim, Jennifer Hicks.

Some questioned Joanessa Clawson about their concerns and say she sent them a doctor’s letter with a nurse’s telephone number to call.

That number was actually Joanessa Clawson’s mother’s cell phone.

The doctor had long retired.

Others in the online community contacted News Channel 3 to find out more about the Clawson’s checkered past in the wedding photography business in Cabazon.

School police finally made three arrests while investigating the sick child story.

In 2006, the Clawsons finally delivered digital “RAW” picture files on DVD to many of their clients.

But some said they never received any photos of their wedding days.

Others took the Clawsons to court, some winning financial judgments against the couple.

The Cobb County Sheriffs Department says James Clawson posted $5,000 bail and is out of jail.

His wife Joanessa Clawson remains behind bars on $10,000 bond.

Her mother Patti Ann Baldassarre is also in jail, held on $2,500 bond.