East Cobb Family Behind Fake GoFundMe Has History of Fraud: Report

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The East Cobb mother suspected of setting up a fraudulent GoFundMe account for her not-actually-sick daughter has had previous run-ins with fake fundraisers, according to a report.

WSB-TV says that Jo Clawson started a GoFundMe campaign for a dying friend last summer, but some members of the community investigated and discovered Clawson’s so-called friend didn’t exist. Clawson’s new fundraiser, claiming to need money for her gravely-ill daughter, raised eyebrows among those who remembered the first fundraiser. Some of them even contacted police.

More digging by community members revealed that Clawson, her husband James, and her mom Patti Ann Baldassarre were no strangers to the law. According to WSB-TV, the Clawsons and Baldassarre have been accused of fraud in the past and have spent time behind bars.

Cobb County Schools Police were called out to the Clawson home after word of the GoFundMe campaign reached her son’s elementary school. Investigators discovered that the child was in fact healthy.

Cobb County jail records show that the Clawsons and Baldassarre all face felony conspiracy charges. Joannessa is also charged with felony theft by deception, while James faces an additional charge of misdemeanor obstruction of a law enforcement officer.

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