So, remember the other day when we told you about the Success for Fred campaign and how its owner Casey Blaney closed donations because shit was getting completely out of hand? You’d think that was sort of the end of it but no, it’s just taken yet another turn for the worse.
11Alive in Atlanta reports that the over $184,000 raised by the GoFundMe campaign is now in limbo:
A heartwarming story that went viral has taken a dramatic turn. The woman who started the GoFundMe account for the homeless Conyers teen to attend college has now frozen the account and claims he’s lying about his background.
Freddie Barley has posted videos thanking everyone who gave, but now he may never see that money. More than $180,000 from hundreds of donors is at stake.
“Freddie is a young man of his word,” his stepdad, Daniyel Jackson, told 11Alive’s Kaitlyn Ross.
In an update in the Success for Fred Facebook group, Blaney expresses her concerns about Fred’s backstory. Despite the fact that she earlier stated the funds raised would be placed into an educational trust, she has now said any distribution is on hold until her concerns are addressed.
Atlanta Black Star reports there also seems to be a “rift” between Fred and Blaney after a Facebook post on Fred’s page expressed his own concerns:
But a rift occurred in the newfound friendship when Barley objected to Blaney’s plans of what he should do with the $184,000 he received in donations. According to the AJC, the college student posted a message to Facebook saying he disapproved of Blaney’s plans to place the funds in a trust; the only way he would agree to doing so was if he could choose an attorney and trustee on his own.
In another post, Barley expresses that no bad blood exists between he and Blaney.
Atlanta Black Star also included this statement from GoFundMe regarding the funds currently in limbo:
“The funds raised are placed on hold and cannot be withdrawn until all the questions have been answered,” GoFundMe spokesman Bobby Whithorne said in a statement. “… If they are not, we will refund the donors.”
Someone has even started a petition on Change.org to have the money released to Fred. As of press time, it has 6,603 supporters.
Now, what’s our lesson here, kids? First, understand someone’s backstory before you create a GoFundMe campaign for them. Second, have a plan ready on the off chance it goes viral. And third… well, third, probably just don’t start a GoFundMe campaign for something like this at all, because do you really want to be in the middle of a shitstorm?
Watch more on this developing story from 11Alive
