According to reports, an online fundraiser attempting to raise money for Kevin Samuels’s funeral was allegedly created by an “imposter.”
On Monday, it was reported by TMZ that a source close to Samuels’ family confirmed that the GoFundMe page was fake.
The family claims that the page was initially credited to Melanie King. The fundraiser had a $50,000 target but has already been taken down from the platform.
GoFundMe is said to have reached out to the family to offer them the money that was raised. However, the family turned down the offer. Those who donated to the page were instead given refunds.
A spokesperson for GoFundMe offered a statement: “Safety is our top priority. It’s very important to us that donor intentions are honored and that money goes to the right place. Generally, if the recipient does not want to receive funds raised on their behalf on GoFundMe, we will refund all donors.
In this case, we have been in touch with a representative of the family and the family has stated that they do not wish to receive funds from fundraisers. As such, our Trust & Safety team is proactively monitoring the platform for fundraisers created on the family’s behalf, and will remove fundraisers started without family consent.
To note, we often see fundraisers started in response to news like this by friends, neighbors, and even strangers with good intentions, as people want to help. Our goal is to always protect donors.”
