Florida AG Slams GoFundMe for Possible Illegal Maneuver

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody lashed out at the GoFundMe service, telling Fox & Friends on Sunday that what the fundraising platform considered doing this weekend in connection with money raised for the Canadian anti-vax "Freedom Convoy" could have been illegal.

Moody said that she and Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., will not be cowered by threats by GoFundMe to redistribute the donations made to the truckers, after the platform froze the funds Friday because it did not support the cause.

DeSantis hit back, threatening a fraud investigation into the operation, Florida Politics reported.

"It is a fraud for Go Fund Me to commandeer $9 million in donations sent to support truckers and give it to causes of their own choosing," DeSantis said. "I will work with AG Moody to investigate these deceptive practices – these donors should be given a refund."

Following the threats, GoFundMe changed its mind and decided to refund all donations.

"Think about what occurred here," Moody told Fox & Friends. "You have a business that essentially makes money off people, out of the goodness of their hearts, wanting to contribute to a cause that’s important to them. You have a big business that encourages that. They take a percentage. They make money when folks raise money through their platform.

"And then, without any notice to anyone, and no donor knows this before they make a contribution, they're going to make some political judgment that they think this isn't a worthy cause anymore, and just shut down after raising millions of dollars."

Moody stressed that people "wanted to help in this protest against heavy-handed government as people historically have done when government has tried to overreach and take away the freedoms of its people. People push back peacefully. And you have a business here that makes money off of people wanting to donate to that, and they just shut it down."

Moody added that "DeSantis was completely right in calling out that nonsense, possibly illegal behavior."

• Gov. DeSantis to Probe GoFundMe for Fraud on Trucker Donations
• GoFundMe to Refund $10M of Canadian Trucker Donations After Fraud Probe Threat