Dillen Maurer, a former professional cyclist, raised over $19,000 through a GoFundMe campaign that claims he lost his foot in an accident. Police say they believe he cut it off himself and are seeking a fraud investigation.

Dillen Maurer, a former professional cyclist, raised over $19,000 through a GoFundMe campaign that claims he lost his foot in an accident. Police say they believe he cut it off himself and are seeking a fraud investigation.

TAOS — A renowned bike frame maker living in Valdez near Gallina Canyon may face fraud charges after law enforcement officials say he made a false report earlier this month about having lost his foot in a hit-and-run crash with an ATV.

Dillen Maurer, a former professional cyclist who owns Baphomet Bicycles, has since raised over $19,000 through a GoFundMe campaign that claims he was injured in an accident.

However, the Taos County Sheriff’s Office believes Maurer’s foot was severed by a chain saw at his home, possibly by Maurer himself.

After receiving a report Sept. 4 that Maurer had lost his foot in a crash, a Taos County sheriff’s deputy arrived at Maurer’s residence on Gallina Canyon Road and applied a tourniquet to his lower leg, the sheriff’s office said. Maurer was airlifted to a hospital.

Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe later said his office’s investigation found no evidence of a crash Maurer and his family had reported to Taos Central Dispatch.

The sheriff provided photos to The Taos News showing Maurer’s severed foot in a biking shoe lying in the grass near his house, but not along any trail or near any obvious signs of an ATV or debris that might have been left behind by the crash.

Hogrefe also showed a photo of what he said was likely the most convincing piece of evidence that Maurer severed the foot himself: A bloody chain saw containing signs of bone and human tissue on the chain and inside the sprocket cover.

“Based on the information they observed and not being able to locate a collision site, witness, or evidence of any collision the investigation remains open at this time,” Hogrefe wrote in a news release this week, noting New Mexico State Police has been contacted to open a fraud investigation.

Maurer’s wife, Jenn Maurer, set up a GoFundMe campaign after the incident with an original goal of $666.

“It’s now been 8 days since Dillen’s accident and we’re still no closer to finding out who else was involved,” a Monday post on the page says. “However, Dillen is moving on with optimism despite all the questions and focusing all the energy he has on physical therapy and rehab.”

On Wednesday, the campaign goal was raised to $250,000.

The Maurers could not be reached for comment.

An article published in Cycling Weekly — “Beloved frame builder Dillen Maurer loses foot in accident” — said Jenn Maurer told the publication her husband “has a history of traumatic brain injury and his recollection is spotty.”

“What we know is that around 10:30 in the morning, Dillen was out on a bike ride, which is a very normal Dillen thing to do. But the only thing he remembers from the ride that morning is that he was on his way home and then distinctly remembers a feeling of getting hit and spun around,” Jenn Maurer said, according the article.

She said she raised the GoFundMe amount “because we’ve begun getting denied by insurance for some essential coverage. Also, I originally set the goal so low because I didn’t know if the funds were accessible until the goal was reached. But a friend just told me they heard someone say it was ‘suspicious’ the amount was so low. I feel like no one can win. If you ask for the amount you need, you’re greedy. If you ask for ‘too little,’ it’s suspicious.”

New Mexico State Police Cmdr. Dominic Lucero, who manages the agency’s Taos district, said his office received the referral to open a fraud investigation into Dillen Maurer, but had not yet done so.

This story first appeared in The Taos News, a sister publication of the Santa Fe New Mexican.

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