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Funds frozen as company probes story of teen’s college trek
Original Publication Date: July 28, 2016 3:37AM
Publication Updated: April 27, 2025 11:09PM
BARNESVILLE, Ga. – The online fundraising company GoFundMe.com says it has frozen the account of a campaign that raised $184,000 for a homeless teenager who wanted to enrol in college until it resolves questions about the young man’s story.
The outpouring of donations came after online reports that 19-year-old Fred Barley had biked six hours to get to Gordon State College in Georgia and was found sleeping in a tent on campus.
GoFundMe spokesman Bobby Whithorne tells The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (http://on-ajc.com/2acxiag) the funds are on hold “until all the questions have been answered.”
It’s unclear what questions have been raised.
Wright Gammon, a lawyer for the Georgia woman who started the page, says the fundraiser was shut down earlier because of the overwhelming amount of giving.
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