GoFundMe: 'Zero Tolerance' For NJ Woman Accused Of Theft

TINTON FALLS, NJ — GoFundMe says it has taken down the online fundraising page a Tinton Falls woman is accused of setting up and then stealing from, and also gave all $15,000 to the man for whom the page was originally established.

The Tinton Falls woman is Nicole Weidelman, 46. She is charged with third-degree theft by deception. She was arrested last week.

Prosecutors say Weidelman set up the GoFundMe page for a longtime family friend who'd been badly hurt in a car accident — and then she stole more than $15,000 from it.

“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," said a GoFundMe spokeswoman on Dec. 19. "After learning of this incident, GoFundMe delivered funds directly to the intended beneficiary."

The spokeswoman said the company gave the man the full $15,000 that people donated to him.

"In the very rare case that funds are misused, our donors and beneficiaries are fully protected by GoFundMe’s Giving Guarantee," said the spokeswoman.

In November 2022, a man Weidelman knew was involved in a serious car crash in Florida. The man lost his arm, needing a prosthetic, plus more than a dozen surgeries.

Detectives say Weidelman contacted the man’s mother, a longtime family friend, and offered to set up a GoFundMe page to assist with the medical bills. But after raising slightly more than $15,000, police say she transferred all that money into her own personal bank account in the form of more than two dozen transactions.

It was the man and his mother who contacted police here in New Jersey and asked them to investigate. Tinton Falls Police Detective William Rodriguez led the investigation.