GoFundMe: ‘Factual misrepresentations’ led to end of fundraiser for man paying wife’s cancer bills

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correct the name of Donald Johnson .

( NewsNation ) — A GoFundMe raising money for an 81-year-old man’s wife’s cancer treatment was taken down after GoFundMe learned the “neighbor” running the campaign was actually his daughter.

She said she posed as an outsider because she thought her parents’ story would resonate more if it came from someone outside the family.

The fundraiser for Donald Johnson was deactivated after the platform said it uncovered “factual misrepresentations.” Before it was taken down, the fundraiser had raised nearly $745,000.

What led to $745K cancer fundraiser coming down?

GoFundMe told NewsNation it received a tip Sept. 25 questioning the identity of the woman running the campaign, who had identified herself only as a neighbor named “Erin.” The company’s Trust & Safety team opened an investigation, standard practice for a tip like that.

On a recorded call, GoFundMe asked the organizer directly whether Donald and Josephine were her parents. She said they were.

“Our Trust & Safety team identified factual misrepresentations, which directly violate our Terms of Service,” a GoFundMe spokesperson said in a statement.

Cancer GoFundMe shut down: Why did daughter create persona?

The organizer told GoFundMe she created the “Erin” persona because she believed her parents’ story would connect with more people if it appeared to come from a stranger moved by their situation than their own daughter asking for help. She said she filmed the video by herself and maintained that every other detail — her father’s job, her mother’s diagnosis, the financial strain — was true.

GoFundMe said misrepresenting an organizer’s identity or relationship to the beneficiary violates the platform’s terms of service, regardless of intent, because it undermines donors’ ability to know who they are giving to.

“As a result, the fundraiser has been removed and all donors have been refunded. 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,” the statement said.

Who is the couple at the center of the GoFundMe?

Johnson, 81, began working as an airport luggage courier three years ago, putting more than 200,000 miles on his car to help pay for his wife Josephine’s pancreatic cancer treatment.

“I interviewed several places, and the one that offered to hire me was this luggage carrier,” Johnson told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo Friday.

NewsNation’s Patrick Djordevic contributed to this report.