In the United States, an elderly Texas resident was deprived of $700,000 in donations due to crowdfunding fraud.

In the United States, a Texas resident forced to work at the age of 81 was deprived of 700 thousand dollars (59 million rubles) in donations collected on the Internet. The New York Post writes about this.

Fundraising for Don Johnson started in early September after his page appeared on the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe. It was allegedly created by the American’s neighbor Erin Howell, to whom he delivered luggage. On the door camera, the woman saw an elderly man struggling to carry two large suitcases up the stairs. She came out and asked Johnson why he was doing such hard work. The man spoke about his wife’s illness and added that due to rising prices, they do not have enough money to live and pay medical bills. So he had to spend 14 hours a day delivering luggage that airlines had lost or mistakenly sent elsewhere.

Johnson's story went viral, and by September 25, 370 thousand dollars (31.4 million rubles) had been raised for him. Soon the amount approached 700 thousand, and the elderly man and his wife thanked people for their help. Only after this did it become clear that the fundraising page was created by the Johnsons’ daughter Amy. As soon as GoFundMe found out about this, the account was blocked and the money was returned to the donors.

Amy claims her father's story is true, but she actually created the page on behalf of her neighbor because it was the quickest way to help her parents. Since fundraising on someone else's behalf is a violation of the platform's rules, Johnson was never returned the money. Now Amy has created an account on another site and promised to inform donors in detail about the life of her father and mother.