Elk Grove Family Calls Kurtis After GoFundMe Freezes Funeral Fundraiser
ELK GROVE (CBS13) -- When tragedies strike, GoFundMe accounts often pop up. So an Elk Grove family called Kurtis after they encountered some problems collecting their donations.
After Niclas Davis' untimely passing in January, his sister-in-law, Jocheba Mulkey, set up a GoFundMe account to help with the funeral expenses her sister was facing.
All in all, people donated $5,523 through the webpage.
But about a week before the funeral, Jocheba was informed by GoFundMe that someone had flagged the account and she would be unable to access the funds until the company had verified the legitimacy of the fundraiser.
So, as requested, Jocheba sent in receipts for expenses such as the cost of renting the church, the burial and flowers.
"It was heartbreaking, you know. On me and my family," said Jocheba. "So yeah, I just hope nobody has to experience that because it just adds on more stress to an already delicate situation."
After getting nowhere with GoFundMe, Jocheba reached out to Kurtis.
But that got the Call Kurtis team wondering, what gets a GoFundMe fundraiser flagged? And then what happens?
A spokesperson for GoFundMe says that anyone can flag suspicious activity. It could happen through internal checks and systems, concerns raised by a donor or even if a fundraiser starts to gain momentum and notice.
As the company reviews the fundraiser, the money is placed on a hold. If the company's Trust & Safety team determines the fundraiser to be illegitimate, it could be removed and organizers banned from using the platform.
No one at GoFundMe could tell us why Jocheba's fundraiser was flagged, or why it took so long for them to process the receipts she submitted. But after we reached out, GoFundMe restored access to Jocheba's account and freed up donations to cover the cost of her family's funeral.