GoFundMe has refunded more than $745,000 to donors after removing a viral fundraiser for an elderly Texas couple when it discovered that the woman presenting herself as their neighbour was actually the couple’s daughter.
The campaign was created to support 81-year-old Donald Johnson, from The Colony, who had been delivering lost luggage to help pay for medical treatment for his wife, Josephine, who has cancer. It attracted widespread attention after footage showed him carrying heavy cases up a flight of stairs.
GoFundMe said its Trust & Safety team received a tip on 25 September questioning the identity of the organiser, who had used the name Erin Howell. During a recorded telephone call, the woman confirmed that Donald and Josephine were her parents and that her real name was Amy Johnson.
Johnson told the company she had used the identity of a neighbour because she believed the family’s story would be more compelling if it appeared to have been told by a stranger.
The fundraiser was removed because GoFundMe said the account contained factual misrepresentations and breached its terms of service. The platform said all donations had been returned under its refund guarantee. ([fox4news.com](https://www.fox4news.com/news/gofundme-supporting-elderly-couple-from-colony-shut-down-due-violation.amp?utm_source=openai))
What happened to the GoFundMe fundraiser?
Johnson has maintained that the wider circumstances described in the appeal are genuine, including her father’s work and her mother’s illness. She also said the family has documentation relating to Donald’s luggage-delivery job and Josephine’s cancer treatment.
However, GoFundMe said Johnson acknowledged during its investigation that she had filmed the footage of her father herself, despite the campaign suggesting it had come from a neighbour’s doorbell camera.
The original appeal said Donald had continued working in later life to meet the costs of Josephine’s treatment and other household expenses. The couple have been married for 57 years.
GoFundMe’s rules prohibit fundraisers that are misleading or dishonest, as well as campaigns in which organisers misrepresent their identity or relationship to the people receiving the money.
Johnson has not responded to requests to provide the documents she says support the family’s account. The refund means donors who still wish to help the couple would have to decide whether to contribute through another fundraising appeal.
