CBS11 out of DFW is reporting that now 17-year-old Samuel Ramon Hunter Jr was robbed of GoFundMe funds raised on his behalf after the teen nearly died in early 2015. The fundraiser has been removed, and we were unable to find a cached copy however we did find this Facebook post from the parent of one of Hunter’s friends:
From CBS11:
Ramon Hunter’s grandmother Kimberly Hunter said she tried for months to get in touch to receive the funds, but was either ignored or told GoFundMe hadn’t sent the money.
When she contacted GoFundMe, a representative told her the near $2,000 raised had been pulled out months prior.
“I feel like she stole from him,” said Hunter. “That’s what angered me. That she used a child to get this. I don’t see how anyone could use a child to do something like that.”
The station attempted to reach the campaign owner by phone and at a listed address for the family friend, however they were unsuccessful.
In a letter to the grandmother we’ve transcribed from the CBS11 segment, GoFundMe support said:
I can confirm that the funds have been withdrawn from the account in the amount of $1828.90 as of March 2015. We will not be able to release any further details without a court-ordered subpeona, which can be sent by law enforcement to [support email].
I’ve also attached a PDF of this campaign that you can use for your records.
My first suggestion would be to contact the Campaign Organizer and try to work this out with them directly. If they are unresponsive or uncooperative, we strongly recommend you contact law enforcement as withholding donations is considered a crime. You can use the information in this email to assist you with filing a report. Once you’ve done this, you can have law enforcement contact us at [support email] and we will be happy to cooperate with their investigation.
As a matter of fact, Haltom City police are investigating, and said if they are unable to recover the money, they will match the missing funds themselves. Way to use our tax dollars for investigations and the hard-earned paychecks of law enforcement, GoFundMe! You know what a reeeeally simple solution for this would be? Stop letting campaign owners run off with money raised for others.
Check out the full segment here
