GoFundMe Fundraiser For Milford Family Of Dead Tot And Surviving Siblings Was Paused For Alleged Fraud

By Ted Cohen/Maine Wire

The organizer of a fundraising campaign designed to benefit a victimized northern-Maine family says he got reported for an allegedly unauthorized GoFundMe account.

But Robert Kearns of Bangor has been cleared by GoFundMe officials of any wrongdoing.

Kearns began the GoFundMe account to benefit relatives of three Milford toddlers who were apparently exposed to inhumanely cold conditions.

One of the children died, while her twin and older brother survived. The cause of the twin's death is still under investigation.

Police summoned to a Milford home last month said they found three children - twins, ages 1, and a 3-year-old, unresponsive. One of the twins died, while the other two children survived.

Kearns, whose organization “People 207” began a GoFundMe campaign for the family, has been working to get the surviving children placed with their grandparents.

But he's been up against a number of critics who have alleged he was in it for his own benefit, a charge he has steadfastly denied.

GoFundMe officials took the fundraiser offline briefly to investigate the critics’ claims, later determining the fundraising campaign is all above board.