GoFundMe deactivates David Johnson fundraiser after viral luggage video raises nearly $745,000 for wife’s cancer treatment. Here's why

After a video of an 81-year-old man Donald Johnson delivering lost luggage on a doorbell camera went viral, a Texas woman Erin Howell started a fundraiser in a bid to support him. The GoFundMe has raised more than US$370,000 in donations. But now, in a tragic turn of events, the fundraiser for David Johnson was deactivated after the platform said it uncovered “factual misrepresentations.” Before it was taken down, the fundraiser had raised nearly $745,000, according to NewsNation.

According to a report in NewsNation, GoFundMe received a tip on September 25 and raised question over the identity of the woman who was running the campaign. She 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 Don and Josephine were her parents. She said they were.

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For the unreversed, a GoFundMe was started to support Donald Johnson, an 81-year-old resident of The Colony who was seen physically struggling to deliver luggage. Johnson said he continues to work to support his wife Josephine, who is battling cancer, and that his luggage delivering job was the only work he could find.

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

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The organizer explained GoFundMe why she created a "Erin persona" as she assumed people would connect more with her parents’ story if it came from a stranger. She believed people might be more willing to help a stranger than a daughter asking for money for her parents. She said she filmed the video herself, adding that all the other details, including her father’s job, her mother’s diagnosis and the family’s financial struggles were true.

GoFundMe said that falsely claiming who you are or how you are related to the beneficiary violates its terms of service. The company said this rule applies even if there was no bad intention. It helps donors know who they are giving money 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. All donors have been refunded.

Anthony Joseph Blas, an 18-year-old, student, tragically died after he attended an off-campus fraternity event and was dropped off unresponsive at St. Jude Medical Center on September 13. Blas reportedly attended an event at the unaffiliated fraternity Delta Chi the night before his death. Although once a recognized fraternity, Delta Chi lost its university recognition in 2021 over hazing allegations and seven other violations of CSUF rules. As of Sept. 26, the GoFundMe page has raised roughly $4,100 of its $10,000 goal.

Donald Johnson viral video leaves internet in tears

Donald Johnson, 81, was delivering lost luggage to a home when Erin Howell, a resident at The Colony, saw him struggling to carry a heavy bag up a steep set of stairs. He was forced to do the odd job to help pay for his wife Josephine’s pancreatic cancer treatment. He began working as an airport luggage courier three years ago, putting more than 200,000 miles on his car. The moment was captured by her doorbell camera.

The couple has been married for 57 years. Donald Johnson continued to work during his wife's medical treatment. He was continuing to make deliveries because he had struggled to find other work, he told Erin Howell during their encounter.

In a recent TikTok video, the couple's daughter, Amy Johnson, said the campaign had collected more than $700,000. However, her parents would not receive the money because the donations were being refunded due to "a technicality." Sitting alongside her parents in the TikTok, the daughter said the money that was raised was intended to help cover her mother's medical expenses as she battles pancreatic cancer and would also give her 81-year-old father the opportunity to stop working.

GoFundMe told FOX 4 that its Trust and Safety team found that the organizer’s account and fundraiser violated its terms of service. The company did not say exactly why the fundraiser violated its rules. However, GoFundMe said its policies require organizers to be “authentic and transparent” with donors.