GoFundMe Donations Frozen For Teen Who Biked 6 Hours For School

By now we know the story of Fred Barley, the 19 year old who said he borrowed his brother’s bike and rode 6 hours to register for a Georgia college, then was found sleeping in a tent because housing was not available yet. A GoFundMe account was set up for Barley by a woman named Casey Blaney and that account earned over $184,000 to help Barley with school. Sadly, Barley won’t be able to touch any of it, thanks to Casey Blaney.

The GoFundMe account, which received over 5,700 donations over 12 days, has been frozen because according to Blaney, she has “multiple questions about Fred’s story.” It all started when the 19 year old made a post on Facebook. In the post Barley said that he objected Blaney’s plans to put the donations in a trust because it wasn’t going through the attorney and the trustee he chose.

Barley wrote, “I would like to publicly address, this article is a lie. I DO NOT AND I REPEAT DO NOT CONSENT to the trustee committee they have established. I have not spoken to her lawyer. The only trust I would and will put my money into is one that I have chosen with a trustee and lawyer I have.”

On Wednesday evening, Blaney took to the Facebook page she created, ‘Success For Fred,’ to issue a statement.

“Unfortunately, multiple questions have been raised about Fred’s story,” she wrote. “We’ve received conflicting information about his initial story. … We’ve asked for the campaign to be reviewed.”

She continues, “Our goal has always been to help Fred and help pay for his education, but with the questions raised, we believe Fred needs to provide additional information.”

It’s unclear what those ‘multiple questions’ are and what conflicting information had been received, but according to GoFundMe, the money will not be released until all questions are answered. “The funds raised are placed on hold and cannot be withdrawn until all the questions have been answered,” says GoFundMe spokesman Bobby Whithorne. “If they are not, we will refund the donors.”

I personally don’t see the problem with the young man wanting to choose where the money goes and who watches over it. I don’t think it’s Casey Blaney’s right to contest that JUST because she saw the story on the news like the rest of us, and took it upon herself to set up a GoFundMe.

What are your thoughts?