GoFundMe has deactivated a viral fundraiser that collected nearly $745,000 for an 81-year-old Texas delivery driver, after its Trust & Safety team uncovered what it called “factual misrepresentations” about who was running the campaign.
The campaign, which trended under the name “David Johnson,” was set up for Donald “Don” Johnson of The Colony, Texas, whose doorbell-camera video of him struggling to deliver heavy luggage moved millions of viewers earlier this month. Before it was removed, the fundraiser had raised close to $745,000, according to NewsNation, to help cover medical bills for Johnson’s wife, Josephine, who is battling cancer.
The Viral Video That Started It All
Home-security footage appeared to show Johnson hauling lost suitcases up to a customer’s door in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, visibly straining under the weight. The resident seemed surprised to find an elderly man making the delivery.
According to the family, Johnson began working as an independent contractor delivering lost luggage about three years ago, after his wife was diagnosed with an aggressive form of pancreatic cancer. The 81-year-old said he routinely worked 14-hour days and drove hundreds of miles, racking up more than 200,000 miles on a car now plagued by mechanical problems.
The video spread rapidly across social media, and the fundraiser — launched on September 2 — quickly snowballed as strangers donated to help the couple.
Why GoFundMe Shut It Down
GoFundMe said it received a tip on September 25 questioning the identity of the person running the campaign. The organizer had identified herself only as a neighbor named “Erin Howell.”
An investigation by GoFundMe’s Trust & Safety team found that the organizer was actually the couple’s daughter, Amy Johnson. On a recorded call, the company asked her directly whether Don and Josephine were her parents, and she said they were, according to NewsNation.
“Our Trust & Safety team identified factual misrepresentations, which directly violate our Terms of Service,” the company said. GoFundMe added that misrepresenting an organizer’s identity or relationship to the beneficiary breaches its rules regardless of intent.
As a result, the campaign was removed and every donor was refunded. “Ensuring GoFundMe is a safe and trusted place to give and receive help is our top priority,” the company said, adding that “taking action like this allows GoFundMe to protect donors’ generosity.”
The Daughter’s Defense
Amy Johnson has maintained that the underlying story is genuine. She said she received the doorbell footage from a neighbor who wanted to remain anonymous, and insisted the video, her father’s job, her mother’s cancer diagnosis, and the family’s financial struggles were all real.
According to NewsNation, she told the platform she used the neighbor persona because she believed the story would connect better with donors if it came from someone outside the family. She also said she ran the campaign through her existing GoFundMe account simply because it was already established.
On the new fundraising page, she wrote: “The neighbor story is real. The doorcam video is real. The diagnosis is real. The job is real.”
Reactions
The takedown has divided public opinion. Many donors expressed frustration at seeing their contributions refunded after giving in good faith, while others praised GoFundMe for enforcing its verification rules. Trust-and-safety observers note that identity misrepresentation — even with good intentions — risks undermining donor confidence across the platform.
What Happens Next
After the GoFundMe page was taken down, Amy launched a new fundraiser for her parents on GiveSendGo on Saturday. As of Monday, it had raised more than $45,000 toward its $100,000 goal.
In her new appeal, she acknowledged the controversy while insisting nothing about her parents’ situation had changed: “My mom has pancreatic cancer. The bills are high. My dad is 81 and still works delivering luggage so they can stay afloat.”
“We started over on a new page so your support can actually reach them this time,” she wrote, adding that the family would post updates.
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