GoFundMe has removed a fundraiser that raised $745,000 for the family of an 81-year-old Texas man whose wife is battling cancer, citing violations of its authenticity and transparency policies.
The campaign was created to help Donald “Don” Johnson, an independent contractor who delivers lost luggage to customers’ homes. It was initially presented as being organized by a neighbor named Erin Howell, who said she wanted to help Johnson after seeing him deliver her lost luggage.
The fundraiser quickly gained attention and raised $745,000. Johnson said the response had made him believe he might finally be able to stop working while supporting his wife, Josephine, during her cancer treatment.
However, GoFundMe later removed the campaign and returned the donations to contributors. According to NewsNation, the platform received a tip questioning the identity of the fundraiser’s organizer and discovered that the campaign had actually been created by Johnson’s daughter, Amy.
Amy reportedly told GoFundMe that she had created the neighbor persona to make the story more emotionally compelling, while maintaining that the rest of the fundraiser’s story was genuine. GoFundMe ultimately determined that the campaign contained “factual misrepresentations” and violated its authenticity and transparency policies.
After the original fundraiser was removed and the money returned, Amy launched a new campaign on GiveSendGo using her real name. She explained that the original page had been created through her existing GoFundMe account because she believed it would be the simplest option.
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According to Amy, the family provided documentation after GoFundMe questioned the fundraiser, but the platform still refunded the donations. The replacement campaign had raised $73,995 toward its $100,000 goal at the time of reporting.
GoFundMe Removes $745,000 Cancer Fundraiser Over ‘Factual Misrepresentations’
