
US homeless fundraiser: GoFundMe campaign 'based on a lie' - jfk13
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-46221766
======
Kaveren
Makes me wonder how many of these campaigns are fraudulent. You know, in cases
when you don't have someone so stupid that they bring legal action against a
co-conspirator because they got screwed over while committing theft by
deception.

If I were a betting man I'd guess there's a small number of people running
large scams on the site to net 5 or 6 figures in profit a year. Unlike
donating to a charity where you have ample resources to research the
organization you're donating to, you sadly can't get that donating to
crowdfunding campaigns.

~~~
ggggtez
I think Go Fund Me probably has less outright scams because the whole point is
that you are asking for money and giving nothing in return.

Compare to Kickstarter where many people try to sell ideas and products that
they have no intention or ability to bring to fruition.

~~~
craftyguy
I think gofundme would have more scams in that case, since they would be MUCH
harder to detect since nothing is promised to 'donors' in return. On
kickstarter, you at least have to pretend for a while that you're making
progress, and failing to deliver anything at the end makes it even harder for
you to do it all over again.

~~~
jfk13
Indeed. While I'm sure there are genuine cases of need that deserve our
sympathy (and maybe even our money), the total lack of verification and
accountability makes me really wary. AFAICS, all it takes to collect thousands
from random strangers is the ability to present a heart-wrenching story. The
entire setup is such that facts are entirely optional.

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payitforward
Kate McClure knew it was a fraud from the beginning. She texted her best
friend that the backstory was a lie, and she was warned by her own mother that
"people go to jail" for these sorts of things. Mark D'Amico also knew, given
the tens of thousands of texts exchanged between the two.

The prosecution seems sympathetic to Bobbitt, despite charging him with the
same crimes. I wonder if we'll see different plea deals come out of this. He
does appear to have some mitigating factors (homelessness, desperation)
whereas McClure and D'Amico made overt acts to fund their gambling and
shopping habits.

The prosecution told the public that Bobbitt's subsequent lawsuit for the
remaining funds was a total legal "miscalculation" on his part which sparked
the criminal investigation. The media probably would have uncovered it too,
given that the whole thing started when local reporters spotted Bobbitt
panhandling again a mere four months after the $400,000 campaign ended.
Bobbitt probably felt like he had no choice (other than coming clean about the
scam in public).

At least GoFundMe is committed to providing refunds to all the people donated.

------
ryanmarsh
Having been executive director for a non-profit I founded and ran for three
years which had incredible media reach and trended on twitter at least once I
can say:

You should treat ALL charities as if they are a scam until proven otherwise.
Running a charity and talking to other directors about the rampant fraud
perpetrated by and even against some household names is so pervasive you
wouldn't believe it. Your next question might be, why isn't it investigated or
prosecuted? Simple, optics. Nobody wants the name of their foundation sullied
because someone ran a celebrity golf tournament that raised millions but never
sent the check.

~~~
paulryanrogers
Religious organizations seem to get the biggest pass around here (Midwest US).
Yet these same people (myself previously included) are so skeptical of all the
_other_ religious organizations/systems they're nota part of.

------
awirth
This reminds me of the Miracle Jones short story "Kickstart My Bad Life"
[http://www.miraclejones.com/stories/kickstart-my-bad-
life.ht...](http://www.miraclejones.com/stories/kickstart-my-bad-life.html)

------
bluetidepro
> The three face potential sentences of five to 10 years for the second-degree
> crimes.

Does anyone know more details on the actual crimes? I didn't see it in the
article. I haven't followed this story that closely as it's popped up this
week more and more, but I'm confused about what part of what they did was
actually illegal? Didn't just gullible people on GoFundMe fall for a fake sap
story?

EDIT: I guess I just missed it in the article. Makes sense:
[https://definitions.uslegal.com/t/theft-by-
deception/](https://definitions.uslegal.com/t/theft-by-deception/)

~~~
boomlinde
_> Does anyone know more details on the actual crimes? I didn't see it in the
article._

First sentence:

"The US protagonists in a viral fundraising campaign for a homeless man have
been charged with theft by deception and conspiracy."

 _> Didn't just gullible people on GoFundMe fall for a fake sap story?_

Yes, but there are laws that make various forms of such behavior criminal,
such as fraud and criminal deception.

~~~
eiaoa
>> but I'm confused about what part of what they did was actually illegal?
Didn't just gullible people on GoFundMe fall for a fake sap story?

> Yes, but there are laws that make various forms of such behavior criminal,
> such as fraud and criminal deception.

It's kinda depressing that some people seem to think the law ends (or even
worse, _should_ end) at caveat emptor.

~~~
joecool1029
So I'm guessing 'theft by deception' is a great example of arbitrary law. If
it were applied universally I'd expect most adtech firms would be out of
business.

~~~
mikeash
How is it arbitrary? Deception seems like a pretty objective measure to me. If
it would put most adtech firms out of business then that’s a problem with
adtech, not with the law.

------
awergergergrt
I only donate to help and protect animals. I found myself not very sympathetic
toward humans.

~~~
thoughtexplorer
Humans are animals that have the greatest capacity for suffering.

~~~
blacksmith_tb
True, but since so much of it is self-inflicted, it's sometimes harder to want
to help them (us).

