Fundraising Frozen As Homeless Student's Story Is Questioned

BARNESVILLE, GA — A wildly successful GoFundMe campaign for a homeless young man who said he was biking 50 miles each way to college has been shut down, with its sponsor saying she now has questions about the young man's story.

Casey Blaney, of Barnesville, started the campaign for Fred Barley, whose feel-good story began a little more than two weeks ago when police officers found him living in a tent on the campus of Gordon State College.

Barley told them he had ridden his bike six hours from Conyers to register for classes. The officers used their own money to put him up in a hotel, and people like Blaney emerged to help him further as his story spread.

Her July 12 GoFundMe campaign, which is now frozen, raised more than $184,000 from donors across the country for Barley's education.

Now, she says she's not sure that's a good thing.

"Unfortunately, multiple questions have been raised about Fred's story," Blaney wrote Wednesday on the "Success For Fred" Facebook page. "We've received conflicting information about his initial story, and we just want to make sure the donors and the public have all of the information available to them before the funds are transferred to a trust to pay for his education.

"We just want to do the right thing, and we've asked for the campaign to be reviewed."

Blaney had apparently turned off comments on the Facebook page as of Thursday morning.

A GoFundMe spokesman confirmed Thursday that the campaign has been flagged for an inquiry.

"Protecting our donors and campaign organizers is GoFundMe's top priority, which is why we have multiple layers of protection in place," spokesman Bobby Whithorne said. "If a campaign is questioned, the funds raised are placed on hold and cannot be withdrawn until all the questions have been answered."

Whithorne said no funds have been withdrawn from Blaney's campaign and that none could be withdrawn "until all the issues have been resolved."

If the crowdfunding site does not get satisfactory answers to its questions, all funds from the campaign will be returned to donors, he said.

Blaney, who paid for several days of Barley's hotel stay and helped him find a job washing dishes at a local pizza restaurant, said she hopes the inquiry will clear up all the questions about his situation.

"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," she wrote. "We're grateful for the outpouring of support and we'll continue to work with everyone to ensure the funds are managed appropriately."