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Nicole C. Weidelman, 46, is charged with theft by deception, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago.
GoFundMe said it delivered funds directly to the intended beneficiary
An investigation led by Tinton Falls Police Department Detective William Rodriguez revealed that in November 2022, the intended fundraiser recipient was involved in a serious motor vehicle collision on I-95 in Florida. The recovery from the incident proved lengthy and costly, reportedly involving more than a dozen surgeries, a month and a half in the hospital, and the loss of an arm, necessitating a prosthetic, Santiago said.
The investigation revealed that Weidelman contacted the man’s mother, a longtime family friend, and offered to set up an online fundraiser to assist with the expenses incurred from the medical bills. But after raising slightly more than $15,000, Weidelman transferred the entirety of the raised sum into her own personal account via more than two dozen transactions, then provided numerous false explanations to the victims over the next several months, before the theft was reported to authorities, Santiago said.
Weidelman was arrested and charged last week.
GoFundMe issued the following statement about the incident:
“GoFundMe has zero tolerance for the misuse of our platform, and we cooperate with law enforcement investigations of those accused of wrongdoing. We have removed this fundraiser and banned the account from using the platform for any future fundraisers. After learning of this incident, GoFundMe delivered funds directly to the intended beneficiary. In the very rare case that funds are misused, our donors and beneficiaries are fully protected by GoFundMe’s Giving Guarantee.”
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