A lot of people put up GoFundMe pages to raise money for stuff. Many of the fundraisers are for good charitable reasons.
But I've wondered if it will ever reach the point where there needs to be some regulation on the money raised to make sure it goes where it's stated to be going. Or some sort of required accounting or reconciliation. For example, if someone is raising funds for "LA Fire Victims" - how do you ever know if that is the case or not? Or how do you know if any feel-good story isn't just a ruse to get money from people?
Case in point:
Last year there was the feel good story of the trio above. The story was that the lady's car ran out of gas on I-95 outside Philadelphia, and the homeless man gave her his only $20 to get gas for her car. The couple was so appreciative of his generosity, that they started a GoFundMe to raise funds for the homeless man to find a place to live.
They raised almost $400,000. Then things went off the rails. The couple said they bought him a camper and set it up on property they owned so he could live there. The homeless man said the couple mismanaged the money, told him shortly after he moved into the camper that he had to vacate the property, and used the funds raised to finance an extravagant lifestyle. He said they only gave him $75,000. The couple said they gave him $200,000 and he blew it on drugs.
The latest? The three of them allegedly made the entire story up.
The New Jersey couple who became famous for raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for a homeless man after he helped with their disabled car — as did the homeless man himself — will all face charges for allegedly providing a false story in order to raise money for themselves, a source familiar with the case told NBC10.
Mark D'Amico, Kate McClure and Johnny Bobbitt Jr. will face charges including conspiracy and theft by deception, according to the source
In September, police raided the couple's home in Florence, New Jersey, hauling away a new BMW on a flatbed truck. Badway said that all the couple's personal and business financial statements, along with jewelry and cash, were seized in the raid.
A New Jersey prosecutor says the story that launched a GoFundMe campaign that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for a homeless man was all a hoax.
In a news conference on Thursday, Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina said the tale was "fictitious" and "formed the basis of a scam."
Coffina said it was, "concocted to compel kind-hearted individuals to contribute to the cause."
"The entire campaign was predicated on a lie," said Coffina.
