GoFundMe pulled the plug on a campaign to raise money for an elderly Texas couple after the husband went viral for working a back-breaking job to cover his wife’s mounting bills for cancer treatment, the platform said Sunday.
The digital fundraising site said it “identified factual misrepresentations,” but did not immediately reveal what kind of misrepresentations were behind its decision to end the campaign set to benefit Donald and Josephine Johnson.
The GoFundMe gained national attention and raised nearly $290,000 before it was pulled down.
The campaign was started by a concerned stranger, identified as “Erin H,” who said she spotted on her Ring camera the 81-year-old husband struggling to carry heavy luggage up a flight of stairs.
The organizer said she asked why he working such a physically demanding job at his age, and Johnson said his wife was fighting cancer and this was the only job he could find to pay the overwhelming hospital bills.
Door camera footage shows Donald Johnson preparing to carry luggage up a flight of stairs.KXAS
But somewhere along the line, GoFundMe said it found “misrepresentations” in the campaign.
“Our Trust & Safety team identified factual misrepresentations, which directly violates our Terms of Service,” the platform said in a statement to NBC News on Sunday. “As a result, the fundraiser has been removed and all donors have been refunded.”
The platform said it has no choice but to take tough action in order to maintain trust with donors.
“Ensuring GoFundMe is a safe and trusted place to give and receive help is our top priority. Taking action like this allows GoFundMe to protect donors’ generosity and our continued ability to support people who are fundraising to help others,” GoFundMe said.
“GoFundMe’s policies, along with those of our payment processors, require authenticity and transparency for donors, and are strictly enforced,” it said. “Because that standard wasn’t met here, donors were protected under our GoFundMe Giving Guarantee, which guarantees a full refund in the rare case something isn’t right.”